Chuck vs The Syndicate
by Bill Jackson
Summary: Sequel to Chuck vs. The Odds. Sarah's memories are back, she is expecting, and a new member has joined Team Chuck. Together with Casey, Carina, and Morgan they must attempt to capture an elusive enemy that may have their names on a compromising list.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Do not own Chuck. Updates will not come as fast as "Odds" due to work and college, but I will make every attempt to post weekly and more often as I can. Please enjoy.**

Chapter 1 – Welcome to the Team

**From Chuck vs. The Odds**.

"And, that should do it." Chuck stands up and turns on the entertainment center. "Everything is set and should be in proper working order."

"Chuck, what's that little black box with the single light?" Carina is curious.

"That's the new Apple TV. It can play our iTunes library, sync our iPads and Macbooks, and we can watch Internet based movies and television shows."

"Can it can play music?" Sarah's interest is piqued.

"Sarah, since when do you care about music?" Chuck turns to look at her with raised eyebrows.

"Well, I found a song on iTunes I want you to hear." Sarah states. "I placed it in our library."

"Ok. What's it called?"

"_You're My Home_ by Billy Joel." Sarah smiles at Chuck.

He plays the acoustic guitar heavy ballad, especially enjoying the final lines about his love being his castle, his cabin, his instant pleasure dome, and how he needs her in his house for it to be home.

"And that my love is what I was telling you this morning!" Sarah stands on her tiptoes and kisses him.

The sound of a throat being cleared makes them all turn to the monitor.

"Sorry to intrude team." General Beckman is on the screen. "We have a lead on our friends."

"Well we know I hooked everything up right."

There is a knock at the door.

"That should be your newest team member. With us having two Intersects working on the team, I wanted another security team member. Someone please answer the door for Agent James Fisher."

Carina exits and returns with a dark haired man slightly taller than Morgan and about the same height of Sarah and Carina when they are barefoot, he has a build similar to Casey and apart from the height looks to be a younger version of Casey.

"Mr. Grimes," General Beckman speaks directly to Morgan, "will you accept reinstatement to the team?"

Chuck stands there not speaking outwardly. _Now I know why my parents always got mad when I asked if Morgan could stay over with him standing there. How can I speak up and not hurt his feelings? Well-played Beckman. Well played._

-o-

James Fisher moved into the room taking in the scene. He found it interesting when the blonde-haired woman and the tall man next to year both made a face of slight discomfort and the blonde-haired woman became dizzy.

"Are you guys alright?" Fisher had a look of curiosity more than concern.

"Their fine?" Casey moved forward to distract Fisher's attention from Chuck and Sarah, who had just flashed on Fisher.

-o-

Chuck looked at Sarah right after the flash. He is curious if she saw what he saw about the new agent in their living room.

"General, why is a former US Army Infantryman, now NSA agent being assigned to our team?" Chuck turns looking at the screen with furrowed brows.

"Agent Bartowski, did I not just tell you I wanted added security? There are now two NSA agents, two CIA agents, one DEA agent, and a independent contractor." As she spoke, she points to each one of the people before her.

"What's the matter CIA feeling outnumbered?" Casey just smiles at Chuck while clapping Fisher on the back.

"Colonel, as the team leader I am leaving you to assign the mission roles, and to maintain oversight of all operations. Think of this as your first run as a station chief. Congratulations team, you are now an off-the-books sub station. Beckman out."

Just like that, the screen displays the NSA logo and their supervising director vanishes.

"Well, at least she didn't ask if we had any questions before cutting us off, but she never mentioned the lead on our 'friends'." Chuck shrugs and turns his back to the screen. "Shall we move this to the dinning room?"

-o-

Everyone takes their seat quietly as they eye Fisher. Chuck and Sarah sit at the heads of the table where they can see one another. With Sarah's memories restored, Chuck hopes their ability to silently communicate is as well. The new agent takes the seat between Chuck and Carina. Carina sits next to Sarah. This leaves Morgan across from Fisher, and Casey across from Carina.

Casey leans forward and crosses his arms, "So let's get some introductions out of the way."

He waits a moment and everyone nods.

"Ok. Agent Fisher, you're first."

"Hi everyone, I'm James Fisher and I'm an intelligence junky. All right, bad joke. Seriously, I'm from a small southern state. I served in the Army for a few years, climbed in rank, saw some action, and was recruited for a special security mission that lead to my current job. So, let me guess who each person is around the table."

All eyes are on him, but Chuck and Sarah. She has her head down and Chuck is watching her.

"Well I know that you're Colonel Casey," he states pointing to Casey.

"You must be Morgan Grimes" Morgan smiles that hey you guessed right kind of smile.

"Sorry man, the beard gives it away. That leaves you as being Charles Bartowski, and since I know Jenny, that means you must be Carina."

"Wait, did you just say, you know Jenny?" Chuck looks incredulously at Fisher.

"You must have me mistaken with someone else. My name is Sarah Bartowski and I'm Chuck's wife." Sarah has a hardness about her that Chuck has not seen since she returned from the failed Quinn mission thinking he was the enemy.

"You may be, but I first knew you as Jenny. I was there on the day your life changed, it's just the CIA got there first. I watched Graham talk to you and give you the alias Sarah Walker before you even said yes."

Sarah looks across the table at Chuck and he immediately knows she is not comfortable with the new guy knowing about her and her father.

"Are you kidding me? You knew Graham gave her a new alias and you still walk in here, take a seat, and reveal her past. Are you out of you're ever loving mind?" Carina is boiling.

"Sarah, you were a Jenny before you were Sarah?" Morgan is looking at Sarah.

"Can it moron!" Even Casey is appalled at Fisher.

"Look, I just wanted you to know that you could trust me." Fisher raises his hands as if someone yelled 'stick 'em up'.

"Then why didn't you share more about yourself rather than sharing about me."

Sarah is ready to destroy her new dinning table with his face. Everyone notices she is holding on the edge of the table trying to stay calm as she continues.

"You know like the fact that you were enlisted. You served during Operation Desert Shield, on the Implementation Force for the Dayton Peace Accords, or that you were recruited while serving on a general's protection force in Europe. How about sharing that you were married once, or that you basically serve as the team sniper where ever you're assigned, or that you've had a different partner each year since being recruited in 1998."

Chuck smiles. He knows she has not given all the information, but it is enough to put the new guy in his place.

"Well I guess they fixed your intersect. However, it did little to remind you how dangerous I can be when pushed." Fisher is scooting his chair back in visible anger at being called out.

Chuck reaches over and grabs his arm. "I wouldn't do that. I don't know how much you've improved, but she is faster now than she was back when she knocked you out. You know, when they had Farm cadets take on your NSA instructional squad."

"How?" Fisher sits looking at Chuck.

Chuck just smiles at Sarah who is returning his smile. He then turns to Fisher and taps his head.

"Honey, did your head tell you that was the recruit record for taking out a fully trained team of NSA or CIA agents?" Sarah crosses her arms as she sways back and forth in satisfaction.

"You know dear, I think I did see a record board in the flash except they left off your full name. It simply said 'Sarah Walker' when it listed you with your team mates." Chuck smiles her smile. The one only she gets, everyone else gets a muted version of her smile.

"Chuck, what more should it say?" She bats her eyelashes and raises her eyebrows.

"How about 'Sarah Walker, super-ninja-spy-girl'?" He puckers his lips at the end and blows her a kiss.

"Oh, I don't know if I like that. You should say more like 'Sarah Walker, super-lover-of-the-greatest-husband-on-earth"

"Sarah, we didn't know each other then, so how could it say…"

"Stop it! We're never going to function as a team like this. Fisher, as lead I'm telling you to keep any personal information from anyone's past undisclosed. Am I understood?" Casey is standing up and leaning over the table.

"Hoorah!"

Casey grunts and sneers.

"You two knock it off. This may be your home, but we need to work, and then we can celebrate your new home."

"Well, if we're done taking measurements, maybe we can get on to our new roles. Johnny, are you going to make me beg to find out what we're going to be doing now."

Casey just looks at Carina and opens his laptop.

He looks at the team file folder and verifies his secure connection. He takes a moment and looks over the role 'recommendations' from the general."

He takes a deep breath; _this is not going to be good_, he thinks to himself.

-o-

The sun stretches down the mountain. He feels the cool air on his face and he looks toward the sky underneath the canopy of trees. He enjoys how the light slants through the small openings between the coniferous branches. While, he would never be free from his own personal prison, he was free from the super max. Joseph Benetti was a city person, but his years of service had prepared him to live in any environment. Therefore, he feels comfortable in the small cabin biding his time until they are ready to strike. He hears her long before she arrives. His wife, at least the one who got him out of prison.

Kayla walks slowly up to him. "Aren't you afraid of some satellite picking you up?"

He shakes his head and slowly turns. "Everything must be ready if you are out here looking after me."

"Yeah, it's almost time for the teleconference. When we get inside would you like for me to get you something to eat?" She smiles as she begins to walk slowly away to suggest he should follow.

"No, I'm not hungry. Thank you miss." He never smiles; he just looks at her as he has since she picked him and the 'director' up on the roadside.

The director had taken off with Sands after they arrived and now only the two of them remained here. She thinks, _He is always a gentleman, so sad, but still a gentleman._

"You know that once this begins, they'll get you back what was supposed to be yours and then you can bring the pay back." She tries to encourage him.

"Revenge is a dish best served cold. It can never restore what I lost, but if I can bring down those who willingly sacrifice good people on the alter of the greater good, then it is a dish I'll indulge." Benetti looks at her with dead eyes.

He slowly climbs the steps to the porch. He stops, stretches, and then opens the door. Moving in front of the computer screen, he stops, and waits for her to finish the connection. The screen flickers and four windows open, each filled with a different man. In clockwise manner, he looks at Sands, Richardson, the 'Director' (Nathan Scott), and a pixilated disguised person.

"Well gentlemen, I presume, thank you for my release. What can I do for you or better yet, what else can you do for my personal cause?" Again, he never smiles, no emotions, it is though he is made of wood.

Kayla thinks, _I've never seen a living person so dead. I wonder what happened to him?_

The shadow laughs. "We didn't break you out to help you. If our mission assists your life goals, so be it, but make no mistake, we're not here for you."

"Why should I help then?" Still cold, still dead, but at least he shrugs his shoulders.

"Simple. We give a copy to empower you, in exchange for the list." Sands smiles. "Is Kayla treating you nice?"

"She doesn't bother me, and I don't bother her. I've got a single interest in life and despite her beauty, she doesn't fit in my plans."

"Given up women have you, chap?" Scott smirks as he slightly tilts his head. "I thought I heard about you and a blonde sometime back. Rumor has it you didn't mind playing house with her and her daughter for a while."

"That was a very long time ago. Long before, I met my wife, and the CIA destroyed our lives. Besides, the woman was a means to an end. The little girl ended up with her grandmother, and the woman went off grid. She never knew my plan to take down the agency, she was simply my doorway."

-o-

John Casey knew he was in trouble, but he also knew he had the authority to disregard the general's recommendations. However, he was not going to pass up the opportunity to assess Sarah's mental and emotional state. Sun Tzu once said that if you know yourself and your enemy the outcome is assured. Well he needed to know his team, for he knew his enemy would not stop.

"The general is concerned with the security of both Intersects. While each has proven themselves as a capable agents without the Intersect, their value to national security has increased exponentially."

Sarah and Chuck share one of their silent looks. It is almost as if they are communicating telepathically.

Chuck's looks screams _I don't like the direction this is headed._

While Sarah's look is one of rebellion and mutiny _If I don't like this I'm going to hurt someone and then do what I want._

"Therefore, it's her recommendation that each Intersect be teamed with another member of the team…"

Morgan blurts out an interruption "I got dibs on Chuck."

"It doesn't work like that Moron. As I was briefing…" Casey gives Morgan a scowl, "the general wants Chuck to work with Carina, and Sarah to work with Fisher. This way, if we need a couple to work two separate angles you're operationally familiar with one another."

"Not going to happen! No way am I going to go on missions without my husband, nor am I going to pretend to be interested in any one else but Chuck. Get the little red headed…"

Casey knew this wouldn't go over well, but he didn't expect this reaction and he wouldn't allow a superior officer to be disrespected, especially in front of an unknown like Fisher.

"Stand down Agent Walker!"

"Her name is Bartowski, not Walker, and you need to stand down, before the government is without an Intersect all together." Chuck was holding both pairs of removal glasses.

Carina quickly places a soothing hand on Sarah who immediately slaps it away.

"Don't touch me! Give me those Chuck; we can end this game right now. I dump this thing that has brought nothing but trouble to us, and you keep yours." She is now making her way around the table with her hand held out to take a pair of glasses from him.

Fisher reaches out to stop Sarah and Chuck flashes. He performs a front ball kick to Fisher's chest sending him to the floor on his back.

Morgan grabs Chuck to calm him and Sarah flashes. She grabs his wrist and hip tosses him to the floor. Carina and Casey both back away as Sarah and Chuck take up fighting stances back to back. Each of them ready to defend the other from any perceived attack.

"Whoa Chuck!" Casey is facing Chuck with his hands held up in surrender.

"Easy Blondie! No need to get hormonal here!" Carina is standing completely still with her hands clearly in plain view.

"Casey, I mean it! No one is stopping me from being with Chuck. Not again!"

"What she said," Chuck states throwing a thumb over his shoulder.

"Ok, Ok. Look just calm down, and hear me out. Remember I said it was a recommendation, not an order." Casey speaks in a low soft voice trying to calm the suddenly very defensive couple.

"Fine" they both state in unison.

"Congratulations, after that performance you two can work together. The general wanted me to make that recommendation to see to what lengths you would fight to be together, but I don't think any of us thought you would actually fight." Casey shakes his head.

Morgan groans from the floor, "What I just got my tail handed to me so Becky can have confidence that Mr. Never-Stay-In-The-Car and Mrs. No-One-Touches-My-Chuck will protect each other?"

"Oh man, love may not make them compromised, but the old saying is still true: love hurts." Fisher quips as he is sitting on the floor rubbing his chest.

Carina just laughs and offers him a hand to get up.

"What about me?" Morgan has his hand out for help.


	2. Chapter 2 - California Dreaming

**A/N: Don't own Chuck. Thanks for the reviews. They certainly motivate a person to sit and write.**

Chapter 2- California Dreaming

Despite the afternoon fireworks around the dinner table, the planned BBQ goes off like a charm. While most everyone was helping Sarah setup the house, Chuck and Casey found themselves outside discussing lawn furniture, cuts of meat, and the merits of the house warming gift Casey purchased at the Buy More: a Beastmaster Grill.

"You know Casey, I was thinking that a nice porch style swing mounted on an A-frame would be nice under that shade tree." Chuck is pointing to the Australian Willow tree near the back corner of the yard.

"Whoa buddy, this yard is incredible." Morgan walks up joining Chuck and Casey on the concrete patio.

"I know it has an underground sprinkler system set on a timer. It also has centipede grass for the summer, and Kentucky blue grass mixed in for the winter. According to the former owners it allows us to have green grass about 45 weeks out of the year." Chuck gestures with his hand, as he makes a sweeping gesture with a Coke in his hand.

"Bartowski, what's with the Coke? You know this is your home and you're off? You'd think you would drink something a little heavier." Casey holds up his beer as he gestures at Chuck's hand.

"Solidarity my man, solidarity."

"What?"

"Sarah. She can't have alcohol now, so I'm showing my support."

"See John, that's what I'm talking about. Chuck is always thinking of about others, and how he can help them." Morgan claps his hand on Chuck's shoulder.

"Yeah tell that to Fisher." Casey points his thumb over his shoulder.

They turn around and look back through the patio door. They can see Fisher sitting at the dinning table with an icepack held to his chest looking happy. They continue to watch Carina holding an icepack to the newest member of the team.

"So how long do you think it has to cool before she is ready for a late evening snack?" Casey quips.

"I don't know, but I know I saw that look once, and almost didn't make it out alive." Chuck shakes his head remembering a Nerd Herd service call a little over five years earlier.

"Well let me tell you, she may just be making sure he is healthy enough. I don't think she wants a teammate's death on her hands. After all, trust me, she can be quite vigorous with her workout." Morgan has a far away look like he his recalling vivid details.

"Morgan, who has vigorous workouts?" Alex startles Morgan as she asks the question, but then follows his eyes inside.

"Morgan, are you thinking about Carina?" He snaps his head around slightly blushing.

"Uhm…"

"Well." Alex stands there with her hands on her hips looking up at her man.

"Guys"

"Nope, you're on your own, Moron."

"Sorry little buddy, I think I hear Sarah calling." Chuck begins to slide away.

"Look at that, I think the grill is warm enough to start. Hold the door Bartowski, I need to get the meat from the kitchen."

"Well Morgan?"

"Alex, have you ever seen Carina train in the gym?"

Her eyes just narrow as she looks up into his face with an 'I hope you don't expect me to believe what you are saying' look.

-o-

Benetti got up from the table, closing the file folders before walking away. He moved slowly to the couch in front of the fireplace. He took a seat and began to watch the hypnotic dance of the flames. Kayla was out on a supply run, and he was very thankful.

_Why did they have to bring her up? It's been twenty-five years and I still feel bad about everything. I cost her a life with her daughter. That was the first time I was ordered to burn someone. The first time I imagined the agency as heartless. Of course, it took about ten years, but I eventually found someone like her. Yet, the agency took her away as well._

He tilts his head back and closes his eyes as he feels the darkness begin to pull him down. He has one last thought before sleep takes him, _I wonder who I will dream about tonight?_

As his sleep deepens, his mind replays a cold rainy day. The look on the woman's face says it all. How could someone get so close to her and try to use her? He knew he had to fix this before she took off. He didn't want her to leave, but he still sees her walking out the door, and getting in the cab. He looks at the phone on the desk, and he knows he should call it in, but he decides to wait until the morning. He is going to miss both of them. What did the agency want with the little girl's father, and why did they think his estranged wife was the key to finding him? He discovered that easy enough, she had the little girl, and the dad always came back for his adventures with his daughter. Meaning he always came back to use her in one of his schemes. He let them go, knowing it would only be a matter of time before her loser ex was caught. _Run girls, head to grandma's. _

The scene in his mind shifts. He sees her, the most beautiful woman he has beheld in ten years. _I can't believe she is my new partner. _Before him stands a woman of average height, she has dark hair and the greenest eyes he has ever seen. Her pale complexion makes her look like a porcelain doll. She truly astounds him. _Oh, I'm in so much trouble._

Again, his mind shifts as he slumps down to lay on the couch. He has his special sunglasses on as he looks through the observation glass. He can't believe this is really happening. It's all because of her. She's the better agent, and he's alright with that fact. He's never been the one willing to burn folks or take folks out. That hurt him earlier with… That doesn't matter now. His wife is about to become the premier agent in the world, and he will join her in a few days. She's seated and the countdown has begun. The lights flicker and images begin to appear on the screen. Something is wrong! _Turn it off, she is screaming pain! Turn it off!_

Suddenly his mind shows him what it shows him every night for fifteen years. Her grave, his breakdown, and his attempt to take out everyone involved with the project. Then he sees her, a little blonde five year old crying as she drives away with her mom.

He startles awake. _Why does she haunt my dreams?_

-o-

A dark figure tosses and turns in her hotel room. She didn't say much in the earlier conference call. She knows Sands and Richardson look down on women, but if she plays her cards right, they will get her what she wants, her man back from the ice queen.

She's a woman. A woman scorned and rejected. She thought she had him back. She thought when he cut the ankle bracelet free he would meet up with her. She knew his father would free him from his handlers. She didn't realize then who he was and what he possessed. Even still, he didn't have to fall for the ice queen. The one who played with his emotions and flaunted herself in front of him.

_I should've known when I caught them showering together. She probably knew it was punch and used that to keep him on her hook. _Here it comes her nightly internal dialogue.

_He was in danger, or at least they thought they were. She was only doing her job, and he wasn't in to her then, he was into you. We should thank her for taking care of him. _She rationalizes.

_Don't hand me that crap, you knew she stood in the way, you should've shot her. _She counters.

_I couldn't he was there. _ She drifts to sleep and dreams of college, a few nights four years ago, revenge, and a life with her obsession.

-o-

Chuck and Sarah make their way up stairs to their bedroom. This is their first night together in their new home. Along the way, they stop and peek into the nursery. In just a few months, ok eight; this will be their routine for years. Chuck places his hand around her waist and leads her to their room.

"Can you believe Beckman, and Casey just went along with it?" Sarah is changing out of her jeans and t-shirt into her bedclothes.

"Chuck?"

"Hmmm, oh what?" He blushes as his eyes rise to meet hers. She loves that he still finds her fascinating.

"Where was your mind?" She asks playfully with her hands on her hips. "You know my eyes are up here." She then points to her face.

"Well, if you must know my mind was where we should be." Chuck's grin grows and he begins getting undressed.

"Really? What makes you think I don't want to go to sleep?" She asks jokingly as she crawls under the covers.

"You might, but somehow I don't think so," he whispers as he crawls into bed and begins kissing her neck. She just lets an almost silent laugh escape into his ear. "Told you."

She bites his ear. He pulls back and looks at her. "Still think you're funny?" She's smiling as he dives back in while ticking her. "Stop it! I'm going to hurt you!"

-o-

Just before daybreak, Sarah begins to twitch. Her mind begins to run images from her past, her present, and some other weird things. Chuck feels her stirring, and wonders if it is another nightmare. They used to come frequently, but over time, they became rare. For a moment he wonders, _With her memories freshly restored will we have to go through the process again of her having frequent nightmares. No, she should be fine, she only lost our years together and those are back._

"Sarah, wake up. It's ok, it's just a dream." Chuck begins to lightly shake her while wrapping both arms around her and pulling her into his body.

"Hold me." She draws his arms in tighter.

"Always." He lies there and listens as her breathing slows and she drifts back to sleep. Kissing the top of her head, "Always."

-o-

When Sarah awoke, she found herself still wrapped in Chuck's embrace. She begins to squirm as she tries to roll over to face him. He's not fully awake so he just holds her tighter thinking she is dreaming again.

"Chuck, can't. Breath. Loosen up." Sarah begins to gasp a little. Suddenly his grip let's go.

"Sorry, I was trying to hold you still in case you were dreaming again, and…"

"It's ok, I know you're being loving." She now turns over to face him and places one hand on his face. "I love you!"

"I love you, too!"

"Do you?"

"Yes" What_ kind of question is that?_

"Then make me coffee." Sarah begins to push him out of bed.

"Oh I see how it is, just use me and abuse me. First, it's help you 'relax', and then hold me close, and now it's serves me?" Chuck is teasing while putting on his robe.

"Chuck, I'm carrying our baby, the least you could do is make me some coffee," She puts on her pouty face.

He just shakes his head and walks out the door with a big smile on his face. _This may be a very long eight months._

About ten minutes later Sarah joins him downstairs in the kitchen.

"Smells good. Is it done brewing?"

"Almost. We forget filters, so I improvised with paper towels." Chuck points to the coffee pot.

She sits at the small dinette next to the kitchen window and puts her head in her hands. "Chuck, could you make me some toast as well. I don't feel so hot."

Chuck walks over and puts his hand on her head as he places her coffee in front of her. "Actually, you do feel hot. Sarah, where is your governor?"

"Oh, I took it off when we went to bed. You know I hate to sleep in jewelry."

"Hang tight a moment." Chuck turns and bolts out of the room.

She can hear his feet upstairs, and then she hears him descend the stairs. In a moment, he's back, "Put this on."

He waits for her to slip the watch around her wrist.

"Feel better."

"Yeah. That is just so amazing." Chuck smiles and feels her head again.

"Better. We might need to find some other way to keep the governor on you." He knows she hates to wear jewelry unless it is necessary.

"Maybe we can look at your father's files."

"Yeah. Well before we get ready to go into Castle do you want to share what you were dreaming about last night?" Chuck is looking out the window so she'll be more at ease.

"I was dreaming about being with my mom when I was very young, just before I went to live with my grandmother, and mom never returned. Then for some reason either Jill or Lou was there, but I wasn't five anymore, I was me now."

"What do you mean, Jill or Lou?" Chuck's face was scrunched up in a look of curiosity.

"Well, I only saw the outline of a brunette and not her face. Heck, it might have been Heather Chandler. Chuck, let's just get ready for work."

"Ok. You head up and I will be right behind you." Chuck swats her on the rear as she walks out. She turns her head and sticks her tongue out.

Chuck walks up the stairs and stops at the landing. He sees Sarah staring into the nursery. She looks so peaceful with a smile on her face. He walks up behind her and wraps his arms around her waist.

Reaching back to his neck she says, "Come on let's get ready and go make the world a safer place for our baby."

-o-

"Well look who decided to join us this morning." Casey smirks as the two agents descend the stairs.

They look around and see Morgan is there, and Chuck and Sarah are seated at the table reviewing stacks of files.

"Johnny, it is totally my fault. Jimmy is new here and I had to make sure he was ok for the night." Carina smiles salaciously at everyone.

"I bet." Chuck snorts.

"What, my sister didn't make sure you were ok for the night? Shame on you sis." Carina smiles as Chuck blushes.

"Carina, trust me Chuck has nothing to complain about. Why don't we focus on what we need to do to capture Benetti, Sands, and Hart?"

"Wow, that sounds like an evil law firm. Have you been wronged by the government, or feel like you're under appreciated, then call the offices of…. Ouch!"

Casey smiles after smacking Morgan on the back of the head. "What do you know? Something useful came out of watching TV last night. I think that's called a Gibbs slap and it works." He grunts a grunt of satisfaction.

"Is it always like this?" Fisher just looks back and forth at everyone.

"No, sometimes it's worse. It's like being in high school for life, and I get to be hallway monitor." Casey grunts.

"Ok, we do have a lead on our friends. Our unknown subject left a fingerprint behind where the general was held. We lifted it and got a hit back. It turns out his name is Dale Richardson."

Everyone looked at Chuck and Sarah, but neither one flashed.

"Sorry, he's not in the Intersect." Chuck shrugged and Sarah gave a tight-lipped, non-smile, kind of smile.

"That's ok, we'll just have to use old fashioned research," Fisher responded as he opened his laptop and began searching the web for men named Dale Richardson.

"Casey, while Fisher is searching for Richardson, there's something I want to bring up to the group."

"What is it Bartowski?"

"I want to sell Orange, Orange and fill in Castle." Chuck looks at the table while he speaks.

"Chuck, this is a NSA sub-station. You can't just sell an NSA sub-station." Casey snorts.

"This complex is owned by Carmichael Industries and if we want to sell our complex, we can." Chuck is waving his finger back and forth between Sarah and himself.

"Chuck, honey. You know that the general can block sells and intimidate buyers, like when she intimidated employers from hiring you in order to make you spy again." Sarah is rubbing his arm.

"I know that, that's why I want us all to agree. This place is compromised and it's too dangerous to stay here. It's as bad as Echo Park."

Now four worried faces stare at Chuck. All four people stayed at Echo Park last night.

"Look Gaez learned enough to blow up Sarah's car. People from Costas Gravas know we lived there. Volkoff's henchmen know we lived there. Hart knows I lived there. Let alone how many people know about this place to include Panzer, Chandler, Shaw, and again Volkoff's people."

"Don't forget Jill Roberts, honey. You opened the door and let her escape with a government issued diamond ring." Sarah looks angry at remembering Chuck and Jill's 'relationship'.

"Right," Chuck states cautiously. "My point is that far too many people know about our base of operations and residence."

"Chuck's right." It's Carina who speaks up. "But I think we need to take care of these bad guys first."

"Hey guys, speaking of bad guys. Richardson is a microbiologist who is leading research in the field of performance enhancements at the genetic level. An athlete becomes a super athlete, a spy, a super spy of Intersect proportions, and a smart person become a genius."

Fisher delivers the news in a dead pan, but to those who heard Mary Bartowski's story it is a frightening revelation. Was the Syndicate restarting Project Omaha?

"Sarah, what if your dream was like mine when I didn't… when I didn't know yet how to control my flashes?" He asks touching her watch-covered wrist.

For a moment, she narrows her eyes and then widens them, as she understands. "Ok, but that does not reveal who I saw, but it does tell me one thing. I want to go see my mother. Will you go with me?"

"Sure, baby." _Jill was a microbiologist as well. I hope she is not involved._

"I'll brief the general on Richardson." Casey states, as Chuck and Sarah get ready to leave.


	3. Chapter 3 - The Road to Where We Were

**A/N: Don't own Chuck. **

**Finally! My baseball season is over. No more six hour round trip bus rides (or driving as the case was most trips). It is always a tough eight weeks each spring. Top it off with statistics course for my doctoral program during the same eight weeks. Maybe you guys can forgive the delay. I'm back. I have not written any ahead of this chapter, but I'm writing again. I wanted to get this one out quick. Please forgive the mistakes. I hope to have another out by the end of the weekend, and hopefully I can get a few chapters ahead so I can give more frequent updates with fewer mistakes. Enjoy this fluffy bridge.**

Chapter 3 - The Road to Where We Were

Walking out of the Orange Orange towards Sarah's car she turns and throws her keys to Chuck. He catches them in one smooth motion and looks at her like she has lost her mind.

"What you want me to drive? No one drives your car?"

"Chuck, you're my husband and I trust you. Plus I just want to ride along so I can think about a few things." She begins to move towards the passenger door.

Chuck opens the door and stops as he looks over the top of the car. "Sarah, what's on your mind? Ever since you're dream last night, you seem to be a little distracted."

"I had a dream about my childhood, but it wasn't just my childhood. Come on get the car started and I will tell you about the dream as we head over to my Mom's house." She says placing her hand on his leg as they both adjust their seats for the drive.

Chuck is driving along staring straight ahead, with just an occasional glance at Sarah. She is in her own world looking out the passenger window. As Chuck pulls on the interstate he can no longer take the silence. Some have said that women need to talk to feel better and men need silence, well this gender reversal was nothing new to their relationship. Sometimes Sarah was more emotionally than man, and Chuck the woman, but it worked for them.

"Sarah?" He gently asks as he turns his head to look at her. He can't help but feel his heart stir as he notices how her hair just graces her shoulders. He reaches over and rubs her upper back with his fingertips. She simply sighs and turns to smile at him.

"Chuck, I had a dream about my childhood that has me confused. In the dream, I saw Benetti watching my mother and me leave a house. I somewhat remember my mother telling me we needed to leave, and rushing like we were running from something or someone, and a guy being there. Actually, a guy who had been around, a guy we trusted, but in my dream that guy was Benetti. It is just feels like one of those childhood memories that seem more dream or borrowed than actually remembered. I would dismiss it all, I mean who can remember clearly events when their five-years old, but with the intersect…"

Chuck was dividing his attention between the road and her face, but he could see clearly the trouble look and the tears in her eyes. He forehead wrinkled as he looked at her and realized this about more than a dream.

"So, you want to ask your mom if it is a real memory or something else? I can understand that, but why is this making you emotional?"

She turned back to the window, and Chuck let her gather herself. Running her fingers through her hair, she sighs and turns back to Chuck as she continues to think.

_Should I deflect or lie. No, I know I grew out of that and I know I can trust him, but why is it so hard to still open up about my past, my estranged family. Yet mom is not estranged anymore, and I have my adopted sister, and my husband, and his wonderful family. Just tell him what you think._

"If this is more than a dream, I think my mom was in a relationship with Benetti after we left my father, and before she abandoned me to my grandmother."

Chuck watched as she looked him straight in the eyes and let her tears flow down her cheeks.

Chuck looks at her as he reaches out his hand to thumb away her tears, "Baby, if any of this is real then you know that Benetti was CIA back then, and there will be a good explanation for all of it."

"Chuck, I know, but if its is real. If my mom was with Benetti, then how long has the spy life been a part of my life? Look at your mom and dad, and all you and Ellie went through, and now we are having a child. I don't want our child to be the next generation of spies, what if we can't stop these guys and we get captured or trapped undercover, or we never come back from a mission, like what almost happened just weeks ago, or worse…." She started sobbing at this point.

"Honey, these past few weeks have taught me we can't worry about that, we just have to live now." He was trying to offer words of comfort, but he did worry about their future, especially now, he never wanted to be on the edge of losing it all like what they just went through. Death would be better than to know he lost someone to a tragedy like the one they endured.

"I know, it's just… Ugh! These stupid hormone swings. Plus, in the dream there is the unknown brunette. She was going to kill one of us that I know. I just don't know which one of us. Chuck, I can't lose you, I can't lose us."

Chuck didn't know what to say, so he just smiled.

"Honey, it was just a dream." He is trying to use his calmest voice possible to help comfort his love.

She smiles back.

"Sometimes, I hate you. You're already turning me into a love-sick real girl, now I'm a blubbering mother-to-be complete with morning sickness and weepy eye syndrome. Then to top it off, I'm going to be all fat." She was still smiling as she ran her hand over her stomach.

He watched her hand, saw the glint of her ring, and then looked into her eyes. Could he possibly love her anymore than he did at this moment?

"That doesn't sound like hate. That sounds like the ultimate act of love by a woman, bearing the child of her soul mate." She began to cry a different kind of tear at his words.

"See, this is why I hate you. Now I'm crying because you're being sweet. Ok, no more talking until I get to my mom's. I need to recover. I do love you, more than you'll ever know."

He nods. _I know, and I love you more than you'll ever know too. _Together they drive in silence.

-0-

John Casey, Carina Miller, and James Fisher are standing before the large monitor inside of Castle with General Beckman on screen.

"Colonel Casey, where are Agents Bartowski?" The general appeared to be trying to see beyond the edges of her monitor as she peered over her glasses.

"They're following up on a lead." Casey answered with giving any more detail.

"And what lead would that be, Colonel?" The general eyes narrow as she looks over the three agents before her.

"It seems that Sarah may have flashed on a connection to Benetti." He offered a vague explanation.

Fisher and Carina look at one another, and Carina gives an almost imperceptible shrug.

Slightly leaning forward the general asks, "Did Chuck flash on this connection?"

Letting out a grunt Casey replies, "No ma'am, it was… through a personal connection."

"Agents Fisher and Miller, I need to speak to Colonel Casey alone for a few minutes." The general's tone was clearly dismissing the other agents from the room.

As soon as Carina and Fisher exited the conference area of Castle Beckman asks Casey, "Ok, what are you not saying Colonel?"

"General, Sarah had a dream while she was not wearing the governor. It was similar to the dream Chuck had before he was sent to see Dr. Dreyfus. They didn't notice that I caught the vague reference to this incident. Sarah and Chuck are on their way to see her mom. I think they believe the intersect pull something from Sarah's subconscious and it is related to this case."

General Beckman pinches her nose for a moment, then asks, "Casey, is Sarah suffering degradation like Chuck suffered?"

"There is no sign that she is, and it seems as long as she has the governor on it stabilizes her like it stabilizes Chuck. However, I'm going to monitor her close due to her pregnancy."

Casey stands a little taller with his chest out in a defensive position. He truly considers Sarah a little sister and worthy of his familial protection.

"Very well keep me posted on the Bartowskis. Now, get the others back in and let's cover what we know about our friend who escaped."

As soon as Carina and Fisher returned they start to brief the general on Richardson.

"Team while I agree Richardson is one of the major players, I want you to concentrate your efforts in finding Benetti. That list, if it exists, cannot fall into the wrong hands. Furthermore, we need to find out who is on the list. Questions?"

The three agents quickly respond, "No ma'am."

"Good, Beckman out." And just like that she disappeared.

"Going on six years now, and she still does not say goodbye."

Carina laughs, "Casey, you sound like Chuck."

Casey grunts and Carina laughs harder. In fact, she is bent over holding her stomach while Fisher asks, "Why is that funny?"

-o-

The black lotus comes to a stop and the occupants sit there for a few minutes. The driver is watching his wife as she calms her nerves. Inwardly he hopes she doesn't put on the agent mask for this meeting. He desperately wants Sarah to confront these issues. He knows Agent Walker now in her full glory, and he loves her, but he doesn't necessarily like her. He now associates Agent Walker with her pre-Intersect years. Shortly after coming to Burbank he thought he met Agent Walker, but in reality he met someone he would now think of as Agent Sarah Walker or now as she will be known, Agent Sarah Bartowski. So he wonders who will exit the vehicle, Agent Walker, Agent Sarah Bartowski, or Sarah Bartowski (his Sarah)? He hopes it is Sarah, she needs her mother, and their baby will need their grandmother.

"Sarah?"

"Huh?" She doesn't look over at him. Instead she continues to stare at the door of the house.

"Are you going to be ok, baby?" Chuck reaches over and pats her thigh and lets his finger tips lightly brush the inside of her leg in a soothing but playful way.

She smiles at him now. "Yeah, I will always be ok as long as you're by my side."

"I know this is hard and scary, but I want you to know that I'm proud of you and I love you." Chuck continues to draw small patterns on her leg.

"Thank you. Well let's get this over." She reaches over and opens the door, and exits the vehicle. She straightens her clothes as Chuck walks around and gives her a kiss.

"You look great." Like a gentleman, at a big social event, he offers her his arm. "Shall we?"

Sarah chuckles. "Why certainly." Arm and arm they walk up the steps and ring the bell.

Sarah takes a deep breath as she hears the door to begin to open. Chuck gently pats her arm and kisses her cheek.

"Sarah! Oh honey, it is so good to see you. Why are you here?" Her mother asks as she quickly pulls her daughter in for a hug. "Chuck, it is good to see you too. Molly, Sarah is here! Come in, come in." She steps back waiving them in to her home.

As Sarah steps through the front door, she notices pictures of Molly and her mom on the walls; she quickly notices the other mother daughter connections in the living room as she turns to enter the room. The quick glances don't go unnoticed by Chuck or Emma.

"Sarah" her mother takes her by the hand, "I'd put up picture of you in the main areas of the house, but with your life I wouldn't want to put you at risk. I do have pictures of you as a little girl in my room."

"It's ok mom. I understand and it's best. I just wish you could have some pictures of us." She states as she gestures between her and Chuck.

"Well actually I do. Chuck emailed them to me. He told me about your accident, and wanted me to have them just in case…" She noticed Sarah glaring at Chuck. "Did I just get some one in trouble?"

"No"

"Yes"

Chuck and Sarah each answered at the same time. Upon realizing Sarah said, "Yes" Chuck hung his head and stared at his feet. Ignoring her mother Sarah reached over and placed her hand under Chuck's chin to get him to look at her.

"Why would you risk my mother like that?"

"Sarah, the threat against your mother ended months ago. You remember that now, but at the time, your memories were gone and so were you. I know Emma and Molly were so happy for you, for us, and I wanted her to know what happened and to share in the hope that one day we could be us again."

"Sarah, he didn't send the pictures right away. He simply called to tell me about the accident. He told me you had reverted to your agency persona of about six years ago, and that you might try to check on my safety. So, I asked for some pictures of you guys in case I got to chance to remind you of where your life had lead you and the happiness you found with Chuck."

"So, I send the files under heavy encryption, and then had Morgan deliver the key on a thumb drive hidden in a new bracelet for Molly." Chuck pleads with his eyes for forgiveness.

"I have them stored on a secure computer that is not connected to the Internet." Emma is rubbing Sarah's arm. "I love you baby girl."

Sarah can barely hold back the tears as just a few drops slip down her cheek.

"Sarah, why are you sad?" A little voice asks as she tugs on her "sister's" arm.

"Oh, Molly!" Sarah scoops up the little girl. "I'm not sad, I'm happy."

Molly touches Sarah's cheeks. "Then why are you crying? I only cry when I'm sad or have an ouchie. Do you have an ouchie?"

"No, one day you'll understand that sometimes people cry even when their happy, and something very sweet touches their heart deep inside." Sarah says as she lays her hand on the little girls chest.

Emma stands there a moment and then looks at Chuck, asking an unspoken question. _Is she ok? Has she returned? _Chuck gave a slight nod.

Sarah noticed and she looks at Chuck and smiles.

"Well Sarah, you seem to be doing alright now. Would you and Chuck like something to drink? Maybe I can make my handsome son-in-law something to eat?" Emma asks as she heads to the kitchen.

Chuck and Sarah took a seat on the couch and Molly climbed in Chuck's lap. In just a moment of time, the couple saw a glimpse of their future and both were touched. Sarah moves closer to Chuck and lays her head on his shoulder while hugging his arm. _I'm so blessed by this man's love. He restored my ability to feel, gave me the hope of love, and restored my family to me. Now we're about to start our own family._

"So, Sarah what brings you and Chuck over this morning?" Emma asks as she enters with a tray of sandwiches and drinks.

"Mom, I need to ask you about something I think I remember from my childhood. I had a dream and I need to know if it was a memory surfacing or just a dream." She keeps staring at her hand in Chuck's, thankful that he is there with her.

"Ok? How about you tell me the dream, and then I can figure out if it was a memory or a dream." Emma looks concerned for the first time since their arrival.

Chuck appears to be completely into playing with Molly, but Sarah is aware of how much he is actually paying attention to the conversation that is about to take place.

"Ok. I had a dream that when I was around Molly's age that you and I left home late at night. It was almost like we were fleeing. There was a man there. I see him in my dream as someone we're investigating now." She stops there thinking, _there is no sense in bothering her with the lady who appears after that, almost like she was working with Benetti._

"Oh baby, I would've thought you young enough to not remember that night. Yes, there was a man there. He… he held a special place in my life about a year after your father and I split."

"Mom who was he? Better yet, what happened with dad?" Sarah shifts uncomfortably while asking her questions.

"Sammy, I'm sorry Sarah. Your father began to attract a lot of attention to himself through some cons he ran during those days. I later found out that your father had over 20 aliases."

Sarah raised her eyebrow that was impressive. She always knew he had a knack for disquises but 20 aliases. Even the best-trained spies had trouble juggling more than two to three aliases at a time.

"I grew tired of the cons, so I left. It was about six months later when I ran into Jeff Bailey." She stops when she notices both Chuck and Sarah flinch and look momentarily confused.

Chuck and Sarah flashed. Jeff Bailey was one of Benetti's first aliases.

"Are you guys ok?"

"Yeah we're fine. Probably just a little tired. We just finished unpacking our stuff in the house we bought. You need to come visit. We've got a special room we want you to see." Sarah turns and slaps Chuck on the arm and gives him a why did you spoil the surprise look.

Emma notices and decides to not ask about the room, at least not yet.

"So, should I continue, or do you guys want to go home and rest?"

Both answer together, "Continue" and then give a small laugh. Sometimes it still felt like they were on their honeymoon.

Smiling Emma says, "Ok. Well, Jeff came into our lives and he became a regular around the house. In fact, he moved in. Your father came around one night, and him and Jeff got into it, and then your father took off. The next night Jeff told me that your father was wanted by the CIA because of his ability to retain information and that he was there to keep track of me. They believed your father would always return for me, so he told me I needed to take you some place safe, and then disappear. So, I did. I took you to your grandmother's and disappeared until you tracked me down."

As Emma talked, Chuck sat there thinking, _This is not good, this is not good, this is not good. This likely means Jack was on the original list. It also means that his constant presence in Sarah's life led to her recruitment._

"Mom, how did Jeff know dad was wanted by the CIA?" Sarah is crushing Chuck's hand as her 'spidey senses' are going off the radar.

"Honey, it turns Jeff was CIA. He said something about being compromised with me and you. He was ready to leave the agency to make us a family until your father showed up. To prove that he let us leave, provided us the means, and gave me use of a safe house after dropping you off at grandma's house." Emma has tears in her eyes.

"So it was a memory. Mom, I love you, but Chuck and I need to go and follow up on this information. I love you. We will return soon."

"Wait!" Emma grabs Sarah as she starts to leave. "What did Chuck mean by a special room?"

"I'm going to be a mom. Chuck and I are having a baby." She hugs her mother as tears escape her eyes.

"Oh, I'm so excited for you guys. Go, but come back soon." She ushers them out the door. As soon as the door closes she says out loud, "Oh Jeff, how will you care for my little one now?"


	4. Chapter 4 - The Omaha Destruction

**A/N: Do not own Chuck. **

**So good thing about Macs, they hardly ever crash. Bad thing about Macs, when they do it is bad... real bad. Anyways, here is another chapter with criminal motivations and three brunettes just to keep everything interesting. Enjoy!**

Chapter 4 - The Omaha Destruction

_The freaking CIA must burn. The Catastrophe Inducing Agency must burn for the pain they create in the lives of their own agents. I can't believe I once believed in a "greater good." I believed in love, family, and the American way, but the CIA believed in themselves and took all of those from me. The freaking CIA must burn, and the Omaha Project must never rise again. _

Joseph (Jeff) Benetti knew he still believed in love, family, and what most Americans know as the American Way, but he no longer believed in the government's version of America, the version of America where the CIA told its employees to make sacrifices in the name of a higher calling. The clandestine organizations required more than the military. The military required a person to leave their family when called upon, and to be willing to die, but they were allowed to have family and families were more or less valued from command to command. Yet, the spy world told you not to love, not to become attached, to live alone, and to never think about having a family. Sure, some tried, few succeeded, but he had a chance until that stupid project. It was simple, the Benetti's would have permanent assignments to one another, another agent, and would be allowed to operate out of the city of their choice, providing the opportunity for a family. Those were the promises and Benetti believed them.

He kept running the scenario through his head and his thoughts were the same. _The freaking CIA must burn. The Catastrophe Inducing Agency must burn for the pain they create in the lives of their own agents. I can't believe I once believed in a "greater good." I believed in love, family, and the American way, but the CIA believed in themselves and took all of those from me. The freaking CIA must burn, and the Omaha Project must never rise again. _

This is why he joined The Syndicate. All the lead members of The Syndicate, for one reason or another, wanted the CIA or the Omaha Project to fail. They were not friends, they did not believe in the same things, but they had one common enemy. Their desires were true to their name, they were a group of individuals combined to promote a common interest, the downfall of one or more elements of the CIA, if not the entire organization.

-o-

_Sarah Walker must die. Sarah Bartowski, like I would ever call her that name. She stole him from me. She trapped into a spy life with the CIA. She changed him. He will never leave her and return to me. He will always go back to her. He has already done that to me. She has to die; it's the only way. I have to help The Syndicate take down the CIA, the Intersect project, and I get to take down the only woman standing between my future and me. There is no doubt about it Sarah Walker must die._

The brunette stood staring in the mirror. She noticed her makeup, her hair, but most of all she looked at the picture tapped to her mirror.

The image of Chuck Bartowski stood in the Buy More parking lot. _He looks different. I don't like the close cut hair. I wish he still had the curls that looped around his ears. It has been years since we fogged up the windows of a car, since we made out in various places, but I remember how my fingers felt running through his hair. How he tasted when we kissed. How strong his hands felt on my back._

The brunette noticed her face was flush. She stood there staring at the woman who was looking back at her.

_What would I look like as a blonde? Is that what he prefers? He is a gentleman after all. _

She laughs at her inside joke. She smiles at her image, and then turns. She takes her seat on the couch and opens the file folder. Time to start planning once more. She must find a way to take out his team members. Therefore, she is browsing the information she gathered sitting in the deli shop. She was getting good at journaling who came and went out of the Orange Orange. There looks at the pictures and knows Casey, Sarah, Chuck, and she knows the red-head is a woman named Carina, but who is the new guy?

_It doesn't matter. He will be my way into their lives. Time to apply the full-court press of seduction._

-o-

_The fools think their so smart. They have the Intersect, but with my advances in microbiology, and my money, I can create a slew of enhanced warriors. Then when the time is right, capture the Intersect, steal the secrets, and place that technology in the head of my super soldiers. Then, I will bring the CIA and NSA to their knees. They took from me the only man who I ever considered a father and they will pay for my grandfather's death. _

Dale Richardson stood there looking out at the city below him. The view from his penthouse suite was nothing short of spectacular. He flew back home after the invasion of the facility. He knew it was time to separate himself from his partners, and for him to fade away. He knew now was the time to resume his place among the rumored elite of society. To resume a place where people talk about you, but they never see you. Time to be that quirky rich guy who lived an isolated life, but when the time was right he would emerge. When they had the entire Bartowski clan in his hands.

_Then without their top agents, we will move to my final project. We will find him, restore him, and unleash him once again on the world. Perhaps, I will save Chuck and Sarah for last, and let him rectify his last failure. Who am I kidding? I will just have them taken out, and then make him mine to control. With the proper motivation the mildest mannered scientist becomes a monster. Hmm… I should know._

-o-

_Langston Graham was a brilliant man. How could Walker let his memory become tarnished by allowing that weakling Bartowski continue as the Intersect? She should have left with Larkin. If she would have left, Walker and Larkin would have discovered the cypher, and he would've never allowed a fake one to blow up the director. Now the CIA's project, what once was our project, is run by that midget over at the NSA. That is why joined, and that is why I will remain loyal. The Intersect belongs with people who are trained and willing to use it to take down their enemies. I will become the Intersect, and I will take down my enemies, and those who've betrayed my recruiters memory. _

Jonathan Sands was lost in thought. He knew he barely made it out of the old CTU building and he knew he didn't have long before they would begin tracking them.

_Let 'em track me. I hope they enjoy my trail. Nothing by desert and heat across these bad lands. Finally, there it is… _

Sands pulls into a long drive, and slowly eases the car into a barn styled garage. The first part of the journey back east is over. A few days here in Texas and then it's on the coast.

-o-

"Glad you guys could join us. How was the family reunion? Did you learn anything about your 'dream uncle'?"

Casey has his usual 'it's time to mess with Sarah' face on as he prods the woman. Sarah doesn't take the bait.

"Yes."

Her answer was simple, and her face looks forlorn as she shuffles her way across the floor to the table.

"Where's Chuck?" Casey notices just then that Sarah entered alone and it looks like she has been crying… a lot.

"He's checking the perimeter beyond our cameras for counter surveillance. He's really worried about operating out of Castle." Sarah looks to the monitors that display the exterior area surrounding Castle. Her eyes are switching back and forth from the monitors. She watches as Chuck rounds the front of the building and stops and stares.

"What do you think he sees?" Sarah points to the third monitor in the bank. "Do we have eyes in that direction?"

"No, I took them down after the hard salami incident." Casey thought about making a follow on comment, surly enough time had past since Chuck dated Lou, but considering his partner was pregnant and obviously on an emotional edge he decided not to pick too much.

"Why? Operationally that deli offers a great vantage point to observe the Orange Orange." Sarah is a little perturbed about the removal of the camera.

"Look Sarah. Chuck stopped going there after they broke up. I didn't see any reason to waste tax payer dollars watching a store front that none of us frequent." Casey states in the most straightforward manner, without any of his usual sarcasm or snarky nature.

The blonde shakes her head and looks back up at Chuck. He is still frozen in place. "Casey! Is that a looped feed? Quick make sure we are live!"

"Dang it! Let's get up there!" Casey grabs his 'Desert Eagle' off the rack and heads up the stairs in a rush. Sarah bolts out after him, removing her S&amp;W from her waistband holster.

Both agents enter the bright California sun and momentarily pause to allow their vision to clear. What they quickly notice is Chuck squatting behind a car avoiding a direct line of sight to the deli's front window.

-o-

Inside the deli two women are in close conversation. Both are pretty brunettes and each has a past with the tall former leader of the nerd herd turned spy.

"Thanks. I really appreciate you helping me out. This will help my case with Chuck. I know he would've never left me had he known what kind of woman she really is." The taller of the two told the shorter girl.

"I don't know. She definitely had her claws deep in him when we tried to date. To think I feel for that FDA agent line. I feel so stupid. I'm so glad we discovered each other and I'm glad to help you get your family back together." The shorter girl looks down at the taller woman's hand and admires the wedding set on her finger. _I just can't believe they kidnapped Chuck and brainwashed him. Then they set this poor woman up to go to jail to get her out of the way. I feel bad that Chuck and I… well I thought he was single._

"Wait, isn't that them? Yeah, it's them. Ooh, they've got guns, let's get you out the back." Quickly the short lady pulls her weekly 'date' out of the booth and ushers towards the back of the store.

-o-

Chuck saw the flash of brown hair move through the lunch crowd and begin to disappear into the back of the deli. He immediately began running towards the back alley to head the women off.

Casey and Sarah saw Chuck take off towards the alley and just as they were to begin their pursuit someone grabbed Casey by the arm.

"Casey, what's going on?" Carina had her hand around his wrist and spun him as she asked the question.

"Not sure, Chuck is running after someone in the deli. He needs back up. You and Fisher watch the front in case they double back. I need to catch up with Sarah and Chuck."

Sarah never broke stride. Her man was after someone and she is determined he wouldn't be alone when he made contact. Always a strong runner, she allows her long legs to carry her quickly across the parking lot and into the alley. Then she slows down to provide over watch as Chuck pulls up just outside the deli's loading dock.

Chuck stops as he sees the door begin to open. "Stop! Put your hands in the air and turn around slowly." Chuck ordered the two women.

Slowly each turns around. Chuck is shocked by who he sees before him. "Well hello!"

-o-

Meanwhile, Benetti is walking around the cabin looking for his 'roommate'. _Where did she go? I hope she is getting more supplies. I guess it's too much to hope she doesn't bring back more frozen microwave dinners._

He is getting stir crazy. So he begins to walk outside, careful to stay under the cover of foliage. It isn't likely that a satellite would be overhead, or that his image would be clear enough to identify him, but one can't take too many chances in this business. As he comes to a stop he looks over the valley. _Why after all this time am I still thinking about Emma and Sam? It has been so many years. I wonder what happened to them? Sam must be nearing 30-years old now. I wonder what kind of woman she became? I bet she has a family of her own. She was such a beautiful but precocious little girl. She was always so serious. I hope she found someone fun loving. She will always be a daughter to me._

-o-

"Well, Hello!" Chuck gives the ladies a smile. "Lou, how are you? Kayla, how are you doing this fine morning?"

"Look Chuck, baby." Kayla starts to speak.

"Baby? Kayla what are playing at?" Chuck's brows rise as he asks the question, but his arm never lowers. He keeps his Walther .45 trained on the ladies.

"Chuck, why are you pointing a gun at your wife?" Lou asks him, hoping to jog his memory.

"Excuse me! I'm his wife, not this… this… two bit…" Sarah has emerged from behind a stack of shipment boxes. Everyone turns to see the rage in her eyes.

"Sarah? Calm down." Chuck knows the effects emotions have on the Intersect and he doesn't want her to flash and kill someone.

Chuck turns to Lou and Kayla. "Put her hands behind you backs."

Just then Casey shows up on the scene and helps Chuck secure the ladies, and escort them into Castle. Before he leaves with Chuck, he tells Sarah to go around and inform the other two team members the targets are secure, and in Castle.

"Right, but no one starts asking questions without me! Got it!" Sarah still has rage in her eyes. It's only been a few weeks since the beach, and the thought of someone trying once again to take her happiness has her… well pretty ticked off. _I don't know what game Miss Hart is playing at, but I will rip her heart out if she tries to take the father of my child. _

And with that thought, the thought of having Chuck's baby, she smiles and rushes off to gather Carina and James.

"Hey guys, we got 'em." Sarah walks around the corner of the building and informs her new partners.

"I'm going to head down to Castle." Sarah looks in the deli and makes a decision. "You guys grab us some lunch. Make sure I get something light like turkey… ooh, with extra pickles… Carina, lots of pickles, I mean like extra pickles plus extra pickles, and one of those waters where the models advertise in body paint."

"Alright, Sarah. I think I know which ones you means." The red-head shakes her head as she enters the deli. _Pregnancy brings lunacy. I better make sure my prescriptions are up to date. When am I due that next shot?_

-o-

Inside Castle, Chuck and Casey watch the women through the two-way mirrors. Each woman now has her own private room where she awaits questioning.

"Well, John, there is one thing that TV show you like has right. Never let the suspects be in the same room." Chuck smiles over at Casey.

"Can it, Moron!"

"Geez John, how did you know I was here? You really are like the Mr. Super Spy." Morgan states as he ambles down the hallway that leads from the Buy More.

"Morgan, buddy, what are you doing here?" Chuck looks at Morgan and then back at the ladies in interrogation.

"Chuck, I came down to see what my team was up to. I haven't heard anything since our last briefing and I just didn't want to miss out on any action. Got anything for to prep? Do we have a mish yet? How about big guy, need me to join you on a surveillance op?" Morgan asks looking between the two men who tower above him.

"Chuck. Casey. Have you started without me?" Sarah voice precedes the sound of her heels, followed by her presence.

Chuck notices her shirt and how she still wears the blue one he likes so much. He also notices her hair has started to touch her shoulders again. He loves this woman and for a moment everything else is forgotten as he watches his life walk towards him. However, like all daydreams something usually crashes through to wake the dreamer. In this case, it is the voice of John Casey teasing Morgan and him.

"Not yet. I was about to begin with torture. I was going to send the bearded idiot to ask deli girl what kind of sandwich you should take on a desert island." Casey never gets to smile because Morgan thinks he's serious.

"Now there is a great idea. This will settle once and for all. Chuck prepares to admit I was right my sandwich choice." He starts to move towards the room holding Lou when a slender but forceful hand stops him.

"Morgan, Casey is teasing you. He doesn't want you to get that information. He's just being mean." Sarah doesn't know why she just defended Morgan, but she felt like someone had to ask like the adult in this situation.

Chuck stares at Sarah. _Is this what they mean about motherly instincts?_

"Still Charah's kid I see." Casey grunts out. Of course he is referring to the time that he told Morgan he needed to move out and let Sarah and Chuck have their own place together.

"Whatever." Morgan is really upset that John would tease him like that, especially now that Morgan was moving ahead in life, and would soon be his son-in-law. Well he will be if he can get up the nerve to ask for John's blessing to ask Alex.

"Boys, stop it! Let's find out what Lou knows. The other…"

"Sarah!"

"…Woman, I was going to say woman, can sit there and stew in her juices for a few minutes." Sarah smiles sweetly at Chuck, but he can see the devious intentions in her eyes.

"Sarah, now enforcer tactics. Lou, for all we know, may be an innocent civilian." Chuck has his hand on Sarah's forearm. She reaches up and pats his hand gently with her other hand.

"Sweetie, of course I'm not going to hurt the midget that tried to take my man before he understood where we stood. I just want to find out why she thinks Kayla is your wife." Sarah's smile still doesn't reach her eyes.

"Oh, this ought to be good. Hold up Sarah, I want to get some popcorn." Casey laughs.

"Easy John, Carina and James are getting us sandwiches from the midget's deli. I think I may eat mine in front of her." Now her smile reaches her eyes. Chuck just shakes his head.

_Still a little jealous_, he thinks as he looks at her.

_No Chuck, this is pure possessiveness. _She looks back. No one can ever deny they were connected as some freaky couple level of understanding. In fact, it often freaked their team members out when they would start the silent communication conversations.

So there they stood waiting and watching the women on the other side of the glass.

"Sandwiches are here." Fisher called out as he dropped a bag on the small table outside of the interrogation rooms. Sarah dug hers out and then entered the room holding Lou.

"Afternoon, Lou. How are you?" Sarah smiled as she took the seat across the table from Lou. She unrolled her sandwich and took a big bite, savoring the taste of the pickles. Lou stared at Sarah.

"Lou, tell me where do you get these pickles? They are absolutely delicious and with you headed to jail I really need to know where I can get some more." Sarah slowly pulls one out that was about to fall off her sandwich and drops it in her mouth. "Umm. Absolutely delicious."

"Why am I here, Agent Slut? What've you done to Chuck to make him kidnap me?" Lou demands with a very angry look on her face.

Sarah smiles. "Lou why would you call me something so ugly and make accusations that I did something to Chuck?" Inside she is fighting every urge to grab Lou by the hair and slam her face first in the table.

"You guys brainwashed him and his sister and took him from his wife, Kayla. She told me all about how the government had the capability of using drugs to make people forget their lives and believe a new life. She says that is what you did to Chuck and now that she has found him she will find away to free him from your control."

"Well I hate to break this to you, honey. Kayla is lying to you. She works for an enemy organization that is plotting to overthrow the CIA and NSA. Furthermore, you're in danger of losing your freedom as a conspirator and a traitor." Sarah is no longer smiling, but she continues in a pleasant voice that she doesn't feel.

"Kayla tricked you. What's more, Chuck hasn't been brainwashed. He is genuinely in love with me, we are married, and since you're about to spend the remainder of your life in either witsec or a deep dark hole somewhere, we are having a child together. So you and little home wrecker wannabe need to back off before I get really angry." Be the time she finishes speaking, Sarah is standing up and leaning over the table in the smaller woman's face.

Lou instinctively leans back as Sarah leans in closer. "Wait, what? You and Chuck are really married and having a baby?"

"Yes we're having baby, and you and your friend are endangering my husband, and my baby's daddy." Sarah now has the woman by the throat.

"Sarah, let her go!" Carina's voice is heard over the speaker.

Sarah turns and glares at the window. She imagines the look on Chuck's face and releases the woman.

Lou looks at the glass, "Chuck, I'm sorry. You deserve happiness and thought Kayla was telling me the truth."

There is no sound from the speaker and the silence looms until Sarah speaks.

"Tell me Lou, what did you do to help the traitor? Tell me and we can make sure you're protected. Make me beat it out of you, and well hope you enjoy a top-secret maximum prison. You know one of those that doesn't exist?" Sarah is back to sitting and smiling as she talks.

"Ok. I will tell you. Kayla came into the shop about a month ago with a tale about Chuck and just after college. She said right after he moved back home they were married. She has a marriage certificate, and they lived happily for a few years until a Bryce Larkin came by to visit Chuck and apologize for college. She said you're with him. You told Chuck the government still wanted him for the Omaha project. Then she says the next thing she remembers is that she woke up in 'Frisco with no memory of her previous life. After a few failed relationships she sought counseling and through hypnosis recovered her memories. I'm telling you she believes this is real."

Sarah gets up and walks out.

"Chuck, this sounds like an Omaha thing. We need your mother and sister here."

Casey grunts. _I hope it is Kayla who is Omaha cracked out right now, and not Chuck. Wait it can't be unless all of us are…. But then again, this would've been at least one to two years before Larkin stole the Intersect. Crap! This is sucks. Sarah and the moron don't deserve this._


	5. Chapter 5 - Don't Lose Us

**A/N: High school graduation is over. Should free some time to write more. Thank you to all who have reviewed, followed, and made the story a favorite. It means a lot.**

**Don't own Chuck.**

**Chapter 5 - Don't Lose Us**

The thought Casey was thinking was absurd, he finally decides and turns to look at his partners. They each look shocked and a bit out of sorts. Then again, how can they not be out of sorts with that kind of news?

"Sarah, wait! Before we call my mother and sister, I want to talk to Beckman. There's no sense in getting my family here to speculate on partial facts unless we've no other choice."

Chuck is rubbing his hands up and down her arms to soothe her and establish a sense of calm within her. Sarah sighs. She leans in wrapping her arms around him.

"Chuck, your mother knows a lot about Omaha, and Ellie can help us discover if 'little miss scrambled memories' is being programmed to ruin our lives."

"I agree with Sarah, Chuck." Casey has been quietly observing. For once he isn't grunting or making a snarky comment. "You two have something special, and I'll be…"

Sarah's eyebrows shot up and one of her hands rose to silence his rant. The other hand covered her abdomen.

"Really? It can't hear me. Anyways, I'll be darned if I'm going to let this evil cabal ruin your lives. I may not have much of one on my own, but I'll die making sure my adopted niece or nephew has its mom and dad… together!" Casey looks around, "And if you tell anyone I said this… well, you know!" Casey then stomps off but calls over his shoulder. "I'll set up the conference call."

"Casey," Sarah calls out. "Thanks. And by the way, its not an it, it's a baby." She giggles just a little.

"Look, Sarah, I know this is going to be tough, but I need you to follow my lead when we talk to Beckman. I've an idea and it's going to be tough, but I need you to trust me." Chuck hands are still, holding her shoulders, and he is looking deep into her eyes.

Sarah stares back with her head slightly cocked to one side, "Chuck, what're you planning?"

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes, I trust you."

"Good, because other than Casey and Morgan, you're the only one I trust right now."

"What about Carina?"

"No, just the three of you! In fact, I need to get Morgan to lead the others away while we talk to Beckman. Just a second, let me send him a text."

Chuck quickly types out. **Morgan need you to lea to Kayla's club and apartment. Stall them – Top Secret on that part.**

Chuck's phone beeps almost instantly. **Cobra can do! Outside BM waiting.**

"Chuck, what's going on? No secrets, no lies, remember!" Sarah is starting to look a bit upset.

"Trust me!" His brows furrow as he squints his eyes at her.

"Fine!" Sarah huffs and walks off to the conference room.

"Sarah, are you alright?" Carina asks as she enters the room. Casey is busy working on making contact with the boss, while Fisher is sitting at the monitor next to Carina keeping an eye on the prisoners.

"She's fine."

Chuck calls out and Sarah turns and gives him her 'I can speak for myself' glare as she sits down and crosses her arms. Chuck gives her a small smile, but she just stares through him.

"Carina, I need you and Fisher to take Morgan to check out Kayla's apartment and club. We need to see if we can find any connection to the Omaha Project in either location." Chuck looks at both agents as he speaks.

"Chuck, why would both of us need to go with semi-agent Grimes?" Fisher asks as he spins his chair to face the conference table.

"So, you want to send Carina out with a semi-agent, your words, as her only backup? Fine, grab some water and go check on the prisoners." Chuck's voice is firm with more than a little edge.

"I can take care of myself, I don't need Morgan or James." Carina protests Chuck's logic as she stands with both hands on her hips.

"No one is saying you can't, but with our enemy's location unknown and Kayla being captured practically on our door step, it's best if we utilize our three person team formats." Chuck offers with a bit of a duh voice.

"I agree with Bartowski. Take Fisher and join Moron on Chuck's quest while we report in to the general. Got it? Move out then." Casey cuts off all arguments as he towers at the head of the table.

The original members of Team Intersect watch their two newest members exit Castle via the Orange Orange.

Casey turns to Chuck once they clear the door. "Ok, why did you send them out?"

"Look Casey, I just don't trust anyone but us and Morgan. I just have a bad feeling about Fisher really. He came in dropping information about Sarah's past, hooked up with Carina out the gate, and seems to have a pathological need be in the know." Chuck stares at the monitors as he speaks.

"That last part sounds like an asset Walker and I had to take care of once." Casey smirks.

"Bartowski! Not Walker! Bar-tow-ski… Say it with me, Casey. Bartowski. That is my last name now. Got it!" Sarah is looking even more cross than before.

_Oh boy, this is not going to be a fun evening. _Chuck thinks as he takes in his wife's posture and countenance. _I haven't seen her this mad since the Augusto mission._

"What ever" Casey grunts and hits the button for the secure call to headquarters.

"Afternoon team. Where's everyone else?" General Beckman wastes no time getting to business.

"Following a lead. We captured Kayla Hart and Lou Palone was helping her. They're both being detained right now." Casey informs the general.

"Very well. Are they talking?" Beckman looks straight into the camera so that it feels she making eye contact with her agents.

"General, I was interrogating Lou when she informed us that Kayla believes that her and Chuck are married, that Agent Larkin and myself brainwashed her to remove her from the equation, and then we jointly positioned ourselves to send the Intersect to Chuck and to eventually seduce him into service."

"Agent Casey?" Beckman noticed that Casey had flinched during the recounting of Lou's revelation.

"General, if I may. In order for such an occurrence to take place. Kayla, Chuck, Ellie, Devon, Morgan, Big Mike, Jeff, Lester, Anna, Harry, Orion, Frost, and the other Buy Morons would all have to be Omaha brainwashed, and for that matter so would Agent Wal… Bartow… Sarah and Larkin. It seems more probable that Sands and his merry men drugged Hart in some type of test and sent her after the Bartowskis." Casey shook his head as if it was too far fetched.

"I agree. Agent Bartowski, Chuck, we need to bring your sister and mother in to discuss the ramifications of these events and to conduct an assessment of Ms. Hart." Beckman leaned forward and made some notes on a legal pad in front of her.

"Ma'am, I'm not opposed to bringing in my mom and sister, but I don't feel it'll yield the results we desire." Chuck looks straight at the general and avoids the sideways glance of Casey and the audible huff of Sarah.

"Sarah, you've something to add?" Beckman's gaze can be seen clearly resting on Sarah.

"No, ma'am. Actually, I do have something. It seems that my husband has some scheme cooking in his big brain, and doesn't feel the need to share with us lowly blonde folks." She slips into her Texas rendition of being a bit ditsy.

"Chuck?"

Chuck lowers his head for just a moment before answering the general.

"It is true that I've not briefed the rest of the team concerning my ideas, but that doesn't mean that I'm hiding something from the team or I think anyone is stupid."

"Then what does it mean Agent Bartowski?" General Beckman looks a bit annoyed. In fact, she has a look that reminds Sarah of their first years together.

"It means that I knew one or both of my partners weren't going to like my requests, and I doubt you'll like them. Heck, I barely like them, but they're what we need to pull off a successful turn of Benetti."

"What?!" All three of the other briefing participants gasp as Chuck makes that final statement.

"General, I'm fully convinced that we don't want the Omaha Project restarted, and I'm also convinced that Benetti holds information vital to stopping a Syndicate restart, and a complete list of potential candidates before he was captured." Chuck glances at Sarah and her shoulders relax as she realizes that he withheld her connection to Benetti.

"Chuck, we're fully aware of the list, and we're almost certain that the list may contain yours and Sarah's name. Along with Quinn, but beyond that, we're not sure who might appear on that list. For those reasons alone, we must get that list and secure the one who could verbally pass on that information. Are you telling me you think he doesn't need to occupy a small room inside a maximum security facility?"

"Yes. That is exactly what I'm saying. Uhm, there is more." Chuck looks at his feet and then reestablishes eye contact.

"More?" Casey grunts.

"Look Benetti can be turned, I'm sure of that, but we need to understand the effects of the Omaha drugs and how long they last, and how susceptible Intersect hosts and others are to the drugs. Kayla can provide us the information for a non-host, but we need to test the drug on someone we know who can handle hosting the Intersect." Chuck stares at the screen.

"No, Chuck. You can't inject yourself with any drugs that might cause you to not remember me." Sarah looks scared.

"I'm not suggesting myself or you." Chuck looks into her eyes.

"So who're you suggesting?" General Beckman is leaning on her desk.

"Someone who has hosted two versions of the Intersect, but is currently Intersect free." Chuck's gaze hasn't left Sarah as he spoke those words, but now he turns to face the tiny NSA director.

"General, we need former Special Agent Daniel Shaw transferred to Castle holding for interrogation and evaluation."

As soon as the name leaves Chuck's mouth Sarah punches Chuck in the shoulder and turns to leave the conference.

"Stand down Agent Bartowski!" The general's command voice is bigger than the lady herself.

Sarah stops and turns to face the monitor. "Ma'am, you can't be seriously considering this request?"

"Agent, I thought your memories were all back? There was a time when you're the first to back Chuck."

Sarah turns fully now to face the general. "Ma'am my memories are fine, and I trust Chuck."

"Hmph! Sounds like it. Chuck, is thinking like a spy and the spy is acting all hormonal." Casey places a hand on Chuck as he talks to Sarah.

"Look John. I trust Chuck, but Shaw is dangerous and so is this drug. I just don't want to lose what I just found again." Sarah looks at her feet to hide the tears forming in her eyes.

"Before I sanction something that dangerous, I need to know your plan for Shaw." Beckman brings the conversation back on mission.

"General, before I can give you that information, I need access to the Omaha Project files… all of them in non-redacted format." Chuck now has his Carmichael face on as he stares at the general and avoids eye contact with Sarah.

"Excuse me? I can't approve the transfer of those files to your location. As secure as Castle is, it's not secure enough for those type of files." Beckman is shaking her head.

"I'm aware of those security facts, but without the information available to us and Ellie, there is no sense in moving Shaw."

"I see. You hope to discover trigger points, points of susceptibility, and codes that handlers might use to control the uploaded agents."

"Correct, plus other things." Chuck nods as he speaks.

"Very well, I'll get you access to those files, but Chuck, you must come here to view them."

"General, we'll use our jet to make the trip."

"We?"

"Sarah and I will make the trip." Chuck catches Sarah eye and pleads with his own. _Trust me!_

"Negative Bartowski. You sent the others out in a three man team, so we need to also travel in three man units." Casey informs Chuck.

"Colonel, you can't leave your command." The voice admonishes.

"Ma'am, I can't allow Chuck and Sarah to travel alone without backup. Setting my personal reasons aside, and I've plenty of those, it's not tactically sound to allow both Intersects to travel without backup, together."

"Casey, if I remember right the Intersect was originally designed for a single operative to operate without a team. The enhanced skills and brain based analyst made the operative a 'three-in-one' spy."

"True Agent Bartowski, but if you remember correctly after you passed your final exam, I was assigning you to an operation in Rome with a full team. I recognized early that while the original plan was for a single agent to operate within the counter-intelligence world, they couldn't perform alone. Therefore, when I assumed sole control of the project I changed the parameters." With that the general set back in her chair.

"General, if an Intersect is a 'three-in-one' package, despite the fact that you don't want them alone, then if Sarah and I travel, it'd be like we have six agents."

"Good point. I'll authorize travel, provided the DNI director approves access to the files. Beckman out." With that the NSA logo appeared and Casey switched off the monitor.

Casey turns and looks right at Chuck.

"Ok. Chuck, tell us what is going through that head of yours before I choke you out." He is not pleased about the briefing that just took place.

"Ok. First of all, I don't want to run any tests on, nor do I really want Shaw here, but we need to know how the Omaha drug works. However, I'm hoping we discover that without needing Shaw."

"Me too! He has already tried to kill both of us at least once, and he masterminded our being fired from the DNI." Sarah looks right at Chuck.

"True. However, the real reason I threw him out there was for Beckman to have the same thoughts you two are having right now. Shaw is a gigantic security risk. Therefore, I would be willing to bet they authorize our access to the Omaha files."

"Alright Bartowski, let's say they do bite, and the files contain diddley squat." Casey raises his eyebrows.

"Then we experiment on Shaw." Chuck actually smiles at the thought.

"Casey, can you give us a minute?" Sarah looks over at her partner.

"Sure. Maybe you can talk some sense into him. I don't know what to say, I just want to punch him over the last comment. Aggressive interrogation I get, lab tests…" Casey just growls after his words fade out.

Casey turns and walks towards the detention area.

"Chuck, I don't like this side of you. Where is this coming from? When you act like a spy, a real cold school spy, it… it tarnishes you. I saw you go down that road once and I thought I lost you, but it turns out I only almost lost you. Shaw almost manipulated both of us from being together by shaping you into a cold school spy, and making me hate the fact that I was forced to guide you there. Now, I know you're trying to protect our baby, and me but it will still hurt me if you do this to Shaw or anyone else. Please, don't go down this road. Please, remain my Chuck."

"Sarah, what do you want me to do? We can't let the bad guys get away, we can't let them win, and we certainly can't have people trying to drive a wedge between us." Chuck reaches out and takes her hands.

"Who? Who's driving a wedge between us? I don't believe Kayla or Lou. I'm not worried about their delusions. I'm worried about you doing something that one or both of us will regret." Sarah has tears in her eyes.

"Baby, I… I can't let anyone harm you or hurt you."

"They won't as long as you stay you. Chuck, it was you that brought me back, it was you that made me want to try, and it has always been you that made me human, that made me a 'real girl'. Those women back there, and those bad guys out there aren't worth defeating if we lose us." Sarah's tears are now flowing down her cheeks.

"We're not going to lose us. I want let that happen. We just need to figure out what is going on and figure out how to stop it. Why would The Syndicate want to trick Kayla into believing we're married? What purpose does that serve? Let's get Casey back, there is one more thing to discuss before we start our quest for answers and Benetti."

Chuck walks back to the detention area to get Casey, while Sarah checks in on Carina's team.

"Ok, we're back. Ready to discuss the final item that has me concerned?" Chuck asks the team as Casey and him take their seats.

"Guys, I think that Carina or Fisher are a mole." Chuck makes this announcement with reservation.

"Chuck, really? We've worked with Carina and I served with her on the CAT squad. She may be unpredictable but she isn't disloyal or a traitor." Sarah looks considerably concerned about what Chuck is saying.

Casey looks at Chuck, "I agree with Sarah. Carina may get one over on you, or run a planned mission off track, but she's not disloyal. Heck, she helped you save Sarah from the Norseman device."

"I agree." Chuck states.

"Casey, Chuck mentioned this before our briefing."

"So you two CIA spies don't trust another NSA agent?" Casey squints his eyes.

"We might trust some NSA agents. We just don't trust the one on our team." Chuck answers.

Sarah's phone beeped. **We need to talk when I get back – C.**

"Carina?" Chuck asks.

"Yes, she says we need to talk. It must be something outside the realm of the mission."

"Hmm.." Chuck grunts almost Casey style.

Suddenly the NSA monitor beeps indicating an incoming call. Within moments Beckman appears on the screen.

"Evening team. Chuck and Sarah your request has been granted. I've made arrangements for you to fly out in three hours. You'll have two days to review the files. After that time we'll discuss the possibility of Shaw. In the meantime, we need to get your sister to examine Ms. Hart."

"Ma'am, while I agree we need my sister she has a life and needs more lead time to plan a trip from Chicago back to LA."

""Chuck, let me handle getting her back to LA. We are prepared to bring her and Dr. Devon Woodcomb on as special consultants to the team there, and in particular to both Sarah and you."

"My sister isn't a spy and we don't want her or her family in danger."

Casey and Sarah are both nodding as Chuck continues to inform the general concerning their feelings about Ellie working for Team Intersect.

"I understand. However, I think this team needs their own medical team. The information each of you carry within your heads means that we must take every precaution to make sure your secret is kept secret."

"General, we understand. Chuck just wants to make sure that Ellie, Devon, and Clara are protected."

"General, the Bartowskis are right, we can't risk the Woodcombs."

"Let me ask all of you something. If someone discovers the Bartowski secret, are the Woodcombs safer in LA with all of you, or in Chicago alone?"

Beckman raises her eyebrows.

"Right, so let me handle the return of Chuck's family. Agents Bartowski, I'll see you in Washington. Beckman out."

"Come one Chuck, we gotta get our stuff and head out." Sarah grabs his hand and leads him up the stairs to leave Castle."


	6. Chapter 6 - Conversations on a Plane

**A/N: As an new writer of fiction I struggled in my first story with tenses. I eventually settled on present tense. However, the more I read and the more I look at creative writing tips I see that past tense makes more sense from a narrative perspective. Therefore, this chapter shifts to past tense and I will stay with that tense for the remainder of this story and any future stories I may write. Thanks for being patient. Thanks for the reviews. I enjoy them and they are an encouragement to keep writing.**

**As always: I don't own Chuck or any other story or characters referenced within this chapter.**

**Happy Reading**

**Chapter 6 - Conversations on a Plane**

Chuck and Sarah stepped into the parking lot. Sarah turned to Chuck and spoke.

"Chuck, I don't want to take a government plane, can we take CI One?"

"Sure." He looked at her and nodded. "Why?"

"I'll explain in the car… I'll drive." The both climbed into the car, and she handed him her phone.

"Look at Carina's text." She let him know what he was supposed to be looking at on her phone.

"Ok, but before I do, when did you snap these photos?" Chuck's raised his eyebrows while he lowered his chin, and gave her his best 'you better answer me, missy' look.

"Obviously while you were getting ready this morning." She answered like there was nothing wrong with her photos.

"Well, I hope their going in a private album. Now what am I supposed to see… oh, wait, I got it. What does she want to talk about?"

"No clue, but for her to text while out with the others and not call in a briefing, it must be something to do with our favorite new member." Sarah glanced at Chuck who looked like he ate something sour.

"Yeah, I guess we could take her with us? She could fill us in without surveillance."

"Is mind reading in that new version of the Intersect? If so, I want an upgrade so I can read your mind." Sarah teased Chuck.

"Umm… my mind is an open book, especially when it comes to you." Chuck laughed. "Let me call Casey and get Carina cleared by him."

Sarah raised her eyebrow.

Chuck caught her look and continued, "He can tell Beckman if he chooses. She put him in charge. For once, we'll just be following our leader's decision. I mean he could say no."

They both laughed.

"Ok, let me call." Chuck bobbed his head back and forth as he waited for the call to connect.

"Casey… yeah, I know we just left. Will you let me talk for a moment? Fine… I know, I'm a moron, but we don't need directions home. Look we want Carina to travel with us. Sarah got a text, and she wants to talk about something off the table, from the side mission we sent them on…. I know, but you'd still have Morgan… he can help… besides are you afraid to be alone?" Chuck held the phone away from his ear in order to preserve his hearing. "Ha, very funny. Thanks we owe you."

Sarah looked at Chuck when he hung up. "You know he's going to kill you one of these days, and then I'll be forced to burn him down, and then our poor baby will grow up with a dead daddy and a jailbird mommy in super max?"

Chuck just smiled.

"Ok, what did he say?" Sarah smiled back.

"He'll send her to the flight line in two hours. I need to call the airfield to get the jet prepped. Between the three of us we can take turns flying." Chuck started dialing the airfield.

"Hello, this Charles Carmichael. Please, prep the Carmichael Industries jet for a flight to New York City with a departure in three hours." Chuck hung up after he received confirmation of the request.

"Jet is prepped, we will call in the new destination once airborne. New York shouldn't raise any red flags, just in case we're being watched." He nodded at Sarah.

As he looked out the window he noticed they we're turning into their home. She drove the car straight into the garage and parked. She quickly hopped out and looked at Chuck over the top of the car. "Hurry up, we need to grab our gear."

"Sarah, we have 'go gear' already on the plane." Chuck looked at her with a momentary 'did you forget?' look.

"I know, but we don't have your favorite dress, or my favorite suit on board. I've got some place I want to take you in DC. We've never been there together, and I want to show you off." She grabbed his hand and pulled.

"Slow down, that will only take a couple of moments to put in the garment bag. So what's the rush?" Chuck pulled back and stopped.

Sarah turned with a huff. She pulled her phone out and opened the pictures he saw earlier. Placing her hand on her hip she turned the phone and showed him.

"Oh, Ok! We better hurry. Don't want to show up to see the general 'dirty'!"

She just yanked him into the house from the garage and shoved him upstairs to the bathroom shower. The look of happiness never left his face.

-0-

Carina greeted the happy couple as they entered the private hanger bay.

"Well you guys sure look…"

"Happy," Sarah interrupted her impending sexual remark. Everyone knew her and Chuck had a healthy relationship, filled with what Chuck once called sexy time, but it didn't have to be the topic of conversation.

"Yeah, I bet" Carina smiled. "So are we going to get this bucket in the air and head out for…" she looked around "… our destination?"

"Absolutely, Carina. Let Sarah and I stow our few extra items and we'll get the bird in the air. Sarah, do you want me to pilot us during take off so you two can talk?"

"No, I like taking off. We can get her up together, and then… Carina, would you grow up?" Carina snickered as she listened to Sarah. "Like I was saying, then we can set the auto pilot and all talk for a few minutes in the forward cabin area."

"Ok. We've got enough fuel to take us all the way to DC. When we arrive it'll be early morning, so we'll be able to figure out where we'll stay and then head over to DNI." Chuck stated as he ran down his mental itinerary.

"We don't need to figure out where to stay. I've got that covered." Sarah stated as she climbed the stairs.

Chuck looked at Carina and she smiled. "She did live in DC, remember."

"I know, but I just figured that since she stayed in the jet the last time she was there, she no longer had a place." Chuck looked up the stairs watching his wife enter the jet.

"Chuck, she's got an apartment she hasn't used since Larkin disappeared. They didn't share the place, it was her refuge, even from him." Carina told her new partner a new fact about his wife.

"Then why didn't she stay there when she was in DC a few weeks ago?"

"She knew deep down where she belonged. That place was her fortress of solitude, but I think she realized that going there would've made it harder to deal with her memory issues. It would've been too easy to just lock herself away. That place was somewhere Larkin didn't know about or anyone else for that matter. Heck, I'm the only CAT who knows." Carina slowly started to climb the stairs as Chuck remained on the ground.

"Wait. Your saying that she's only going there now because of her trust and confidence in us?"

"Yes, moron."

Chuck paused on the steps and scrunched up his face. "I thought Casey stayed in Castle?"

"Ha! Just climb your skinny butt up these steps and get us rolling." Carina commented as she passed through the doors.

Chuck quickly climbed the steps and entered the cabin where his wife already sat talking with the flight tower.

"Ok, Chuck, we're cleared for take off. Let's head out to the runway and haul some Carina."

"I heard that!" Carina shouted.

"Ha! I'll shut the cabin door." Chuck said before he climbed in his seat. He looked at his wife, "I love you."

"I know. I love you too." Sarah released the breaks and pushed the throttle forward.

-o-

"So do you guys know why Chuck, Sarah, and Carina are headed to New York?" Fisher asked Casey.

"The general had something for them to check out."

"Like what, a lead on the big bad? Are they going to go see if one of them can flash on some Wall Street wolf who is supplying the baddies with mucho pesos?"

"What are you talking about, Moron? I swear Morgan, I thought you were growing out of all that immature babble." Casey stated with a disgusted tone.

"Casey, wait. I just get carried away. I want to help and all I ever get to do is prep the gear." Morgan slumped down at the table as he spoke.

"Morgan, Beckman wanted them to report to New York, so they went. It's that simple. Orders are orders, and we obey them as long as they don't compromise the mission, and then the situation dictates like terrain dictates on the battle field." Casey commented loud enough for Fisher to take the hint.

"Well that sounds like the general. I just can't believe she didn't read you in to their side mission." Fisher commented.

"Who says she didn't. It's a need to know operation." Casey walked off, indicating that neither Morgan nor Fisher needed to know.

-0-

"Ok, the auto pilot is engaged. Anyone want a drink before we get started?" Chuck asked as he headed to the galley for a drink.

"I'll take some coffee." Sarah called out.

"Me too." Carina requested.

"Two coffees coming up." Chuck hustled out of the forward cabin.

When Chuck returned he sat down with the ladies and prepared himself to listen to Carina. Sarah got things started.

"Carina, I got your text message that you wanted to talk. So, I got you included on our trip to DC."

"DC? I thought we're headed to New York?"

"No, that was just to throw off any potential leads." Chuck chimed in to the budding conversation.

"Whatever. It's probably best. Look guys, I know I can be unpredictable, and a bit reckless with my spontaneity, but one thing I am, I'm loyal. I just don't have that same feeling about other team members." Carina looked down at her feet.

"Fisher?" The Bartowskis spoke at the same time.

""Jinx, pinch, poke, you owe me a coke." Chuck went through the motions beating Sarah at the jinx game. She glared at him, while Carina smiled. "What? You never played the jinx game?"

"Not since I was five." Sarah's glare didn't lessen.

"Well from the look on your face that's one to scratch off the road trip games list." Chuck pulled out an imaginary pencil from behind his ear and made a single line across an imaginary notepad in his hand.

Sarah simply turned back to Carina. "I think it's safe to move forward, provided the nerd of my life doesn't attempt to bruise his delicate baby momma anymore."

Before Carina can start Chuck interjects, "Oh, I see. You aren't opposed to the game, just losing at the game." He smiled.

Sarah returned her icy glare with a raised eyebrow.

"Uhm… you didn't know we're playing so I took advantage of you? Sorry?"

Sarah smiled and patted his leg, "Good boy."

"Boy?"

"You were just playing a child's game."

"Good point." Chuck gave her a sheepish look and then turned to Carina. "So, Carina, you were saying?"

"Look guys, while we were out I discovered something that made me uncomfortable." She looked from Sarah to Chuck and back again.

"Tell us about." Chuck kept silent and allowed Sarah to take the lead. Plus he didn't want to get pinched now that Sarah was behind in the game.

_We're playing, right?_ Chuck thought to himself.

Carina flashed back to the afternoon mission with Fisher and Morgan.

-0-

They arrived at Kayla Hart's apartment. Carina quickly picked the lock and entered the apartment with her weapon drawn. Morgan and Fisher followed her in that order. The two agents swiftly cleared the apartment while Morgan waited in the living room.

"All clear. No one is here." Carina announced as she entered the living room.

"Well let's turn the place over and get out." Fisher announced.

He walked over to the desk near the window that overlooked a portion of the city, and began to look through stacks of mail and papers on the desk.

Carina was walking through the doorway into the kitchen to search it when she glanced back and noticed Fisher putting some mail in his pockets. She called out, "Did you find anything?"

"No, just some routine bills." He picks up a stack and began to read through them as he tossed them back down.

"Guys, I think I got something in the bathroom." Morgan called out.

When they entered the small room, he pointed into the trashcan. A syringe lay there in the trash. "Grab that trash Morgan." Carina commanded. So, Morgan grabbed the bag and tied it off.

"What else do we have? Nothing? Then let's head out to the bar." Fisher suggested.

-0-

"So, did you discover what Fisher took from the desk?" Sarah asked.

"I did." She held out a few envelopes to Sarah.

"Carina, this is just mail." Sarah glanced at the envelopes as she passed them to Chuck.

"Oh boy! Carina, how did you get these?" Chuck asked waiving the envelopes around.

"I lifted them when we were in the bathroom. He may've been distracted by the thought of taking a shower with me, since I was whispering it in his ear, while looking in the trash, and lifting the mail." Carina shrugged.

"This could be huge or it could be nothing." Chuck again waived the mail around.

"Chuck, it's just bills." Sarah admonished.

"Did you not look at the address labels?" Chuck held them out again.

Sarah took them, looked at the labels, and gasped.

"Is this right?" Sarah asked.

"Addressed to one Daniel Shaw with current date stamps. Yeah, it looks pretty real. Kayla is living in Daniel's safe house apartment. The one he used during the Gruber mission, the one where you… and then…" Chuck got up and walked out. He headed toward the pilot's cabin. "Some one needs to check on the auto pilot. In fact, I'll fly for a while."

"Chuck, wait." Sarah looked pleadingly at her husband. She had that same hurt and surprised look she had when she heard Chuck say her real name to Shaw, just before the fight, the one that was a cover for Chuck but not necessarily for Shaw. Looking back on that day, Sarah realized Chuck never flashed during the fight but Shaw was determined to win. _He used us for his own purposes, and I was such a fool. Why couldn't I just forgive Chuck for Prague?_

Chuck never looked back. He didn't even pause. He walked into the cabin and climbed in the pilot's seat and put on the headset. He disengaged the autopilot and called into the closest flight following center.

"Ground control this is Charlie-India-Gulf-Tree-Six-Ninner, over… Roger, advised of surrounding aircraft and winds, over… Ground Control be advised we're making a destination change and altering our flight plan, over… Roger, new destination Washington, DC… Roger, next control station is Little Rock airspace, Charlie-India-Gulf-Tree-Six-Ninner, out."

Chuck switched off the radio and let the silence fill the cabin.

-0-

"What just happened?" Carina looked worried as she noticed Sarah's eye filling with tears.

"The Gruber mission was a tough time for Chuck and me. We captured Gruber, an assassin sent by the Ring to take down a high profile target. The target turned out to be Daniel Shaw. Chuck went undercover as Gruber and performed exceptionally well. I was still upset over Prague, and was fighting the idea of Chuck being a spy. I didn't want him to lose his innocence like I did. I went to see Daniel at the safe house to talk to him, since he was our lead at the time. In the process, I confessed my real name to him and we started to make out. Chuck broke in as Gruber. Turns out he was watching the apartment, as Gruber, and overheard us. Rather than kill Shaw, he had two Ring goons or maybe they were just lowlife mafia types… but anyways, he had them watching with him, so he chose to confront Shaw for taking his girl. They fought… Shaw for real and Chuck for cover… the real Gruber showed up, captured me, and then Casey rescued us by taking Gruber out from Chuck's abandoned sniper's nest. In the end, I chose to start a relationship with Shaw While Chuck was ending his relationship with Hannah."

"Oh, Sarah. Is he still hurt over that?"

"It'd appear so." Sarah's tears slipped down her cheeks.

"Don't cry. It'll be ok. Chuck knows you love him." Carina, a little uncomfortable with these feelings, did her best to comfort Sarah.

"It's just… I never… I still haven't told Chuck directly my real name." Sarah cried a little harder.

"Well it's about time you had that talk."

Carina got out of her seat and headed toward the pilot's cabin. She entered and climbed into the co-pilot's seat. She placed her headset on and keyed her internal mic.

"Chuck, Sarah is hurting back there."

"Carina, I just can't… not right now, if I go back there I'll say immature things and make it worse." Chuck demonstrated a rare moment of true self-reflection and what he thought was self-control.

"So, hiding in here is making it better. Sarah told me what happened in that apartment."

"Before or after she chose Shaw. She gave him more than she's ever given me. Who knows what else she confessed to… I mean a traitor may know more about her than I do. She hasn't once shared more than a few tid-bits about her childhood, and only then when the situation mandated it. I try not to let it bother me, and most days it doesn't, but sometimes…" He let the thought hang in the air.

"Chuck, I remember a conversation I had with Sarah several years ago. She'd just confronted what she called her year of torment in San Diego. That's all she told me about San Diego in connection with her past. She said a mission took her back there, and you learned a little about her. You helped her, and she was willing to reward you with any information you asked her about concerning her past, and you turned it down. She said and I quote, 'He could've asked me my name, he wanted to know it so bad one night, and I wanted to tell him. He asked for my middle name, and I waited until he was out of hearing range and I whispered my middle name. You know what he did though, he told me he knew me now, and he didn't need to know me then, because now is all that matters. How many times can I be rescued by a man who could easily out perform any spy I know, but turns out to be the greatest man on earth?' It was then I knew she was hopelessly gone. Sarah Walker didn't exist anymore. Sarah Bartowski may not have appeared yet, but the cold agent known as Walker was gone."

"Could've fooled me. She still pushed away, and still converted back to her when Shaw came around."

"Like you're converting back to the leader of the nerd herd, all insecure with the maturity of a high school freshman? She's carrying your child! Are you freaking stupid? Let me ask you a question, did she return to you when you opened up in complete honesty, directly to her about your feelings and the mole? Yeah, I know. Casey, let it slip one of the first nights here. We were drinking and he was telling me stories about how the team functioned and what I could expect from you two operationally. Now, back to the question, did she return?"

"Yes."

"Before or after you guys discovered Daniel's secret?"

"Before."

"Alright then. Go back there and be as open and honest as you were then. Don't go all super-mature and feed her a line about all you need to know is what is now. Especially, if that is not how you feel. I got the plane. Listen, I want to sleep some. We got four hours to DC. I want two of those. I'll leave you two alone, and don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"What wouldn't you do?"

"Exactly! Have fun after you talk." Carina cut off any more remarks when she removed her headset.

Chuck climbed out of the seat and headed back to Sarah.

"Chuck…"

"Sarah…"

"I'm sorry…"

"Jinx, pinch, poke, I no longer owe you a coke." Sarah stated without a smile. She hopped this would alleviate some of the tension.

"Ouch! Anyone tell you, that you don't know how to operate at playful pain levels?" Chuck asked while rubbing the underside of his upper arm.

"No, I never played like this before you." She smiled at Chuck.

"Look Sarah, I'm sorry I acted childish, but it still hurts that you never told me your name and you still don't openly share with me your past." Chuck looked her in the eye while taking her hands in his.

"Chuck, all you have to do is ask. I will tell you anything now. It's just you said you didn't need to know. Plus, you know I legally changed my name to Sarah, because I wanted to be who you knew me as, not Sam, or any of my other aliases. Chuck, I was Sam, but now I'm legally Sarah, and not just any Sarah, your Sarah. My name is Sarah Lisa Bartwoski, and I'm married to the most wonderful man in the world."

Sarah allowed the tears to flow down her cheeks as she spoke to Chuck.

"Sarah, I don't want to have to ask, I don't want to wait until missions make you tell me something. I want you to freely give me your past. I'll try to be patient, and I'll keep a close eye on little signs to learn you. Just like I've done for five years. One day, I want you to be as open with me as you were that day with Shaw." Chuck looked at his feet.

"Oh, Chuck. Don't you see? My desire to not lose you to the spy world, my mission to stop you from being a cold heartless spy, like I had become at one time, made me share that information. He took it as me reaching out to him, and I was, but only to make him stop pushing you. I entered that relationship because I needed you, and you were becoming a spy. I guess I wanted some one to care for me, but I knew I couldn't handle seeing you as a spy, knowing you were once this honest loving man who the spy world destroyed. So, I turned to someone who I only knew as a spy. At least I never expected him to actually care for me, and in that way I was protected from another Prague."

"Sarah, I'm sorry I didn't leave with you. I thought the only way we could be together was as spies. All I've become, all I've done is for us."

"I've never told you this. You know the night you uploaded Intersect 2.0, I was about to tell you that I was leaving the CIA to stay with you, but then your dad interrupted our conversation. I had the same chance to tell you something similar at the train station on that terrible night, but I was sure you wanted to be a spy more than you wanted us. So, I assumed what I thought I saw was real, and the Chuck I knew was indeed gone. I know now that all you did was for us, but I didn't then. However, I'll make sure to share my past with you. When we get settled in DC, we'll start a new tradition. Instead of watching the _Sarah Connor Chronicles_, you can listen to the Sarah Walker Chronicles." She smiled at him. He returned her smile.

"Ok, that sounds great. Now, Carina has given us two hours of alone time. We need to discuss this mail revelation and it's possible meanings, before we take back over flying duties. So let's devote about 45 minutes to that discussion with Carina while the autopilot is engaged."

"Ok"

"So, that leaves us about an hour to… say were sorry to each other in a more marital way. Shall we retire to the sleeping quarters to… not sleep?"

"I would be happy to accept your apology and give you mine in return." She hopped up and started towards the back of the plane.

Chuck smiled. Daniel Shaw could wait, even his memory was done coming in between them.


	7. Chapter 7 - Further Proof

A/N: With Summer in full swing and the days settling into a routine, I should be able to post more often. Thank you for the reviews. I love that this story is generating traffic, and I love hearing your thoughts. I don't have any one beta my stories but I try to catch as many of the mistakes as I can. Please, overlook the ones I miss. The title of this chapter has two meanings. Both should be obvious.

**Chapter 7 - Further Proof**

**45 Minutes Later: Still on the plane**

"Sarah, we need to talk with Carina, and then take over flying duties." Chuck hated to disturb her from resting. She was curled up in front of him, and he was enjoying one of his little pleasures, being the big spoon, and enjoying the warmth generated by the back of her knees.

"Hmmm… I don't want to face reality yet, but you're right. Ok, let's go save our world, one painful conversation and file review at a time. Chuck, I'm really sorry about all that happened with Daniel and those months we struggled." She turned over and looked in his eyes, as she found his hand under the cover, the one that wasn't attached to the arm snaked under her pillow, and eventually wrapped around her upper back.

"I know, but I don't blame you. I hurt you bad, and I was too childish to communicate with you openly about everything. Plus, I wanted so badly to impress him myself… at first, you know before he started up with you… and before he turned against us… and before he tried to…"

"Sweetie, you're spiraling. Besides, we all thought he was a good guy, at first… you know before he…"

"Are you making fun of me, Mrs. Bartowski? "

"Maybe, or maybe I'm just trying to lighten the mood. I haven't eaten anyone recently so I need to start being funny."

Chuck smiled at her reference to their first date. Then he continued the original conversation.

"Looking back, I think that he used us both to isolate each other, so he could make me his personal weapon, and he knew that controlling you would control me."

"I know, Sweetie, we covered most of this before, we just never dealt with the feelings over the little things, well not little, but you know things like the name…"

"And Hannah in what you considered your home and bed." Chuck finished. "You know I just realized why you changed all the furniture on your side of the bed, and made me get a new mattress when you moved in with me."

"Just now? I thought you're a genius Mr. Bartowski?" Sarah teased as she got up and got dressed.

"Well when it comes to relationships and understanding beautiful women whom I'm lucky enough to have love me, I'm a bit on the sloooow side of life."

"Umph!" Chuck breathed out as the pillow Sarah held landed right across his mid-section.

"No more of that! You're wonderful and kind, and I think we're both lucky to have a love like ours. We're equally blessed. So new pact, no more lies, no more secrets, no solo missions, no more thinking we don't deserve the other, and no more holding back our feelings when we're hurting. Agreed?" She stood over him with her pillow cocked and ready to fire.

"Sure, just don't hit me again." Chuck laughed but was serious about the agreement, just not being afraid of being hit with her pillow. "Ok, let's go work."

**Forward Cabin**

Sarah broke the ice. "Carina, you said that Fisher stole mail addressed to Shaw?"

"Yes, it appears that Shaw still receives mail at the safe house being utilized by Kayla." Carina looked at both Chuck and Sarah. "Wow, I guess you guys worked that out. Not even a hint of discomfort in either of your eyes."

"Yeah, we did. Thanks for the talk." Chuck told her while thinking about their exchange in the pilot's cabin.

"Ok, then. Yeah, it seems that there may be a connection between Shaw, Kayla, and the other members of the Syndicate, and possibly Fisher." Carina stated in a matter of fact manner.

"Carina, what I'm about to tell you is beyond classified. We've received special presidential clearance to the Omaha project. We've got 48 hours to discover all we can from those files. We're relying heavily on Chuck's extensive retention rate." Sarah told Carina. Carina's eyes went wide with surprise.

"I hope that my ability to retain large amounts of information and the new Intersect will… you know intersect… and I will be able to flash on the raw reports rather than the redacted reports. If not, hopefully I can recall the raw report if all I see is the redacted report."

"What're you guys hoping to find?" Carina asked with her eyes squinted.

"We want to see if we can find out who the original players were, what the objectives were, and the plans they held for us, and the others who were effected by the project." Chuck stated while looking at his watch. "We only have a few minutes more, and then we must take over flying."

"Ok, guys. What is the plan for when we land?" Carina asked.

"Carina, do you still have a safe house in the area?" Sarah took over the strategy planning.

"Yeah."

"Good go there to stay. We want you to track down the Shaw – Fisher – Hart – and who knows whom else connection. Meanwhile, Chuck and I'll move to my safe house. We'll operate out of there when we're not in the DNI archives researching the Omaha files. We meet back 60 hours after we land and compare notes when we're secure in the air. Once, we land in Burbank we don't take any action until we brief Casey."

"Unless" Chuck stated as he jumped in to the plan. "We discover something that must be carried out in a time sensitive manner."

"Agreed. If that happens, we brief Casey in the air." Sarah nodded her head.

"Alright. Mrs. Bartowski are you ready to fly the final leg and land this bird?" Chuck asked Sarah as he smiled.

"Only if you're me co-pilot, Mr. Bartowski." Sarah answered with a teasing but enticing tone of voice.

Carina made a gagging sound. "Stop I'm going to be sick." She then laughed as she went back to sleep chambers.

"Carina, clean sheets are in the small closet behind the door." Sarah called out.

"Ewww. I almost… you know what… thanks, but I think I'm going to stretch out on the couch back here." Carina stopped and turned into the back cabin area just outside the sleep quarters.

"Should we tell her?" Chuck whispered as they watched her change directions.

"Nope, this is a classic case of what she doesn't know can't disturb her." Sarah laughed remembering the last time they were on the jet together and alone.

-0-

Meanwhile in Burbank…

"Casey, Alex and I are going to have a cook out tonight. Would you like to come over and eat?" Morgan asked Casey as he started to climb the stairs to leave.

"I can't. Someone has to stay here and watch the prisoners. You go on and enjoy yourself, but not too much. I've got some more work to do here, and then I slide out to Subway for a moment."

What no one realized was that Casey was busy splicing surveillance video to ensure that his conversation with the Bartowskis was erased.

With Morgan having exited from the closed Orange Orange earlier, Casey decided to exit through the Buy More and out the back. Plus, he kind of wanted to see what renovations were being conducted and if there was a possibility they would discover the tunnels to Castle.

He poked his head of the employee locker secret door, and quickly moved through the break room, through the stock room, and out the loading dock door. As he entered the loading dock area he almost ran into Fisher who was just putting his phone in his pocket.

-o-

Moments earlier…

Fisher entered the detention cell of Kayla Hart.

"Ms. Hart, how're you doing this evening?" Fisher asked the woman who had her head on table in front of him.

"Who are you? What do you want? Why am I here?" Kayla rattled out a series of questions.

"Whoa. I can only answer one question at a time, Ms. Hart. I'm Agent James Fisher of the National Security Agency. You are here to give answers about why you are following Chuck Bartowski and his team. As for what I want? I want you to reunite with your husband. I want to help you get back together with Chuck."

"With Chuck, what are you talking about? Chuck was my nerdy neighbor. Ouch, what was that?" Kayla rubbed her neck where Fisher just stuck her with a needle. "What're we talking about?"

"We're discussing how 'life is too short to live without love'." Fisher replied.

"Where is my husband? You guys took Chuck from me and turned him against me. What do you want from us?" Kayla began crying.

Fisher just smiled and walked out. He quickly moved down the corridor, through the Buy More, and out on the loading dock. He then moved behind some stacked boxes and took out his phone and shot off a text message.

**Serum works for approximately 12 hours, full effects fade after 20.**

He waited for his phone to buzz, and then looked down.

**Stay low and keep administering the drug. We need her to drive a wedge. I'll be there in 72 hours.**

Fisher quickly replied.

**Will do. I can't wait to c u**

His phone buzzed right back.

**Soon. We'll b 2gether and each have our revenge. Me on her, and you on him.**

Just as Fisher started to respond he heard someone coming out on the loading dock.

"Oh! Hey Casey. Heading out?"

"No, heading to Subway. Come on let's head over, I'll buy." Casey motioned with his head.

"That's ok. I'll just head back inside, and…"

"No, I insist. Come on, consider it an order." Casey attempts to keep his voice semi-light but with enough force that Fisher will comply.

"Alright."

-0-

"Man, it seems like those flights get longer and longer." Chuck is stretching as the stand inside the private hanger.

"Mr. and Mrs. Carmichael, and Ms. Miller, we have the cars you requested ready. They're this way." One of the hanger assistants guided them to two parked rental cars.

"What? No Porsche or Lotus?" Chuck looked at Sarah and back at the cars.

"No, I wanted to fit in around DC, but still have some measure of style and performance. Hence, American made muscle cars." Sarah waved her hand over the cars.

There before them was a black 2012 Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro.

"I got dibs on the Camero." Carina called out us she walked up and opened the door to the car.

"Fine. We'll take the Mustang. Besides I like a good stallion." Sarah commented as she slapped Chuck on the rear. "Carina, text me or Chuck if we need to meet up early for any reason."

The spy couple and her best friend drove out of the hanger and made their way to their safe houses.

Almost an hour later…. Just outside of DC towards Columbia, Maryland

"Chuck, I hope this is but another event in our lives that proves the depth of my love for you." Sarah states as she opens the door. "No one has ever been here. No one. This is what the annual auto draft from my paycheck paid for. I purchased it about three years before I was assigned to you, and I paid it off just before Ellie's wedding. Now I just pay the annual taxes and insurance."

"Sarah this is amazing." Chuck stood in the entrance and immediately noticed the little bar area serving window from the kitchen, the open floor plan, and the stairs that lead to the bedrooms.

"It is simple and nice." Sarah pointed to the non-descript furniture and decorations. There were no pictures of her or her life. It was simply decorated so that any one could live there.

"Sarah, you always said you never had a home. Yet, this is a home." Chuck looked at her.

"No, Chuck. This is a house. It is an occasional stop when I'm… was in the area, and it was a place I could store certain valuables. This close to DC and DNI headquarters no one would expect me to have a safe house or let alone store stuff here."

Sarah took his hand and led him upstairs.

"Here is the guest room, and here is my room." Chuck looked in both rooms.

"Sarah, why does the guest room lead to the balcony, and not your room?"

"Spy logic I guess. I didn't want my room with that vulnerable access point."

"Hmmm." Chuck smiled as he walked back into her room.

"Hmm what?"

"Just never thought that my Sarah would be scared to sleep near patio doors." Chuck knew he was teasing but he tried not to show it.

"I'm not scared Chuck, it's called being safe, prepared… you know being a spy." Sarah raised her eyebrows in indignation.

"Wow. I have seen that face since I told you 'no woman'." Chuck laughed.

"Keep it up! You're about to be my 'guest' here with all the privileges that come with being a 'guest' to include sleeping arrangements. Or you can be nice, and be my husband here with all the privileges that come with being my husband, to include sleeping and non-sleeping arrangements."

"That's not funny."

"Neither is you calling me woman. It wasn't funny then or now." Sarah started to leave when Chuck grabbed her and pulled her back for a kiss.

Chuck let her go and walked over to the wardrobe closet to see where he could put his clothes. He was shocked to find it empty.

"Huh, Sarah? Where are the clothes you kept here?"

"I didn't. I told you I never lived here more than a few days. I always lived out of a suitcase until you talked me into unpacking."

Chuck just smiled letting her words sink in. This place was special to her, but not as special as their home. _If she never leaved here, what made it so special that she wouldn't let at least Bryce know about this place?_

"Chuck, you remember we said no more lies, and no more secrets…"

"and no more solo missions, and no more holding our feelings back." Chuck interrupted.

"Yes. I've something I want you to see." She walked down stairs and down into a basement. There she opened a secret panel and punched in a key code, and a secret door opened to an underground vault and panic room. Chuck followed her into the secret lair.

"Here is everything you want to know about my childhood. Sam, Rebecca, Katie, and Jenny are kept down here. The code is Wa1t1ng4the1."

"Wait…"

"And I found him. Now do you want to stay here or go enjoy your husband privileges?"

"Husband. I vote husband." Chuck smiled from ear to ear, not just about the offer, but the room, the house, the baby… everything.

Later that night, with Sarah curled up in front of him, he lay spooning with her thinking about all the times they almost lost each other, and how special their lives were together. He thought about Longshore and how she said he was her guy. He thought about Shaw in passing. He thought about all the bombs and shots to vests. Of course, he thought about Quinn. However, as he drifted off to sleep, two times plagued his mind: the time Bryce told her, "We will always have Omaha.", and the time Forrest conducted the 49B.

-o-

On the other side of Fort Meade in her own safe house, Carina readied herself for bed. Climbing into the sheets she lay there deep in thought.

_Why do I always pick losers? How did Sarah get so lucky to find someone as wonderful as Chuck? Not that I want Chuck, but surely there is someone more my type who is like him. I thought Fisher, but he is a freaking traitor. There is John but our age difference. I wonder how old John is anyways? Oh Carina, you now that the house and family is not for you. Liar._

With those thoughts she drifted off to sleep.

-o-

John Casey had set up two cots for him and Fisher. Morgan had just arrived from the dinner with Alex. "Hey John, what did you need?"

"Grimes, you, Fisher, and myself are going to take shifts watching the prisoners. We will operate two up, one down until the others return and we are ready to move forward."

"When will the others be back?" Morgan asked as Fisher walked in from the latrine.

"They've got a mission window of 48 hours from 0900 hours our time tomorrow. They will then fly back provided there is no need to follow any new leads." Casey answered.

"So we are looking at least 72 hours, or 3 days?" Fisher commented more than asked.

"Yes, so here's how this is going to work. I will take the first six-hour shift. Grimes, you'll pull the first three with me. Fisher you'll sleep the first three, and then relieve after that, we go six up, three down." Casey handed each of them a duty chart.

"So, I'm always up with one of you two?" Fisher asked.

"Problem with that?"

"No, just making an observation."

"Good, Fisher rack out, and Grimes put on some coffee. It's going to be a long few days."

A/N: Just a small teaser:

"Hey Sarah, we'll always have Omaha."

"Chuck, why do I have a sudden urge to go meet up with Bryce? I know he's dead, but it's almost as strong as when he left the Buy More that one day."


	8. Chapter 8 - Confessions and Codes

A/N: Really wanted to use "Spy Barbie" and "Spy Ken" from another story I read by Dettiot, but didn't want to cross any lines without permissions. I decided to give a shout out to the actress who played Emma.

Anyways, I don't own Chuck or any other character/series mentioned in the story. Read and enjoy, and drop a review note.

CHAPTER 8

"Chuck, as soon as we go in to headquarters and enter the secure area, we will have 48-hours to ascertain as much information as we can about Omaha." Sarah's voice tickled Chuck's neck as she cuddled into him after turning off the alarm clock.

"I know babe. I think we should work in shifts, and one of us should only exit for food, one at a time." Chuck spoke while sweeping a few of her stray hairs that were tickling him from his face.

"You're right. Let's get up and get a move on." She placed one hand on Chuck's chest and pushed herself up to a seated position on the side of the bed, and then stood.

"Oh, Chuck, just in case we run into anyone from my past that I might have dated or went out with once or twice in the hallways and they want to flirt, I love only you and I'll shoot them down."

Chuck rolled over and looked at her before answering. "Sarah, headquarters is an alpha male community, so I'm sure we'll meet someone you didn't date and they'll still flirt with you. When you're married to the most beautiful woman in the world, it kind of comes with the territory."

He watches her head to the bathroom. "Did you just add a little extra sway?"

"Just for you honey, just for you. Want to conserve water?"

Just like that Chuck was up and moving to catch up with his wife.

1200 EST/0900 PST

As Chuck and Sarah were entering DNI headquarters, Benetti stepped outside into the California sun. _I'm done. Hart has been gone five days, and no one has contacted me. The time to move is upon me. First, I'm going to head back to LA, and then I'm going to see if I can't establish the patterns used by this alleged Intersect team._

Benetti kept up with technology advancements while in prison, and he was fairly certain that satellite images could be used to track individuals. Therefore, as he left he confines of the cabin he moved under the cover of trees. When he had to cross a danger zone, such as an open field, he kept his head down and moved as quickly as possible. It wasn't long before he emerged from the wood line into the parking lot of a small gas station. He slipped into the store and made his way to the drink cabinet and snack aisle. It was there he picked up a conversation that would help him avoid complications.

"Hey Joe, grab me a bag of chips and one of those 64 ounce sodas from the fountain while I use the restroom."

"Hurry up pea bladder. I want to get back home to LA before it gets too dark and the kids have gone to bed."

"Alright, I'll hurry. You act like we've never taken a hunting trip before."

"Bro, you know you're sister will kill me if I miss another night of helping put the kids down."

"After sharing a tent with you, maybe I should take my time."

That was his break. He grabbed some beef jerky and a bottle of water, dropped them into his large coat pockets and headed out the door. Once outside, he looked over the cars and spotted the pickup with a camper shell. He snuck over and climbed in the back of the truck, covered himself with some blankets and waited for the hunting brothers to drive him to his destiny.

-0-

Chuck and Sarah entered DNI Headquarters and made their way through the various security checkpoints until the came to the office suite of General Diane Beckman, Deputy Director of the NSA and project director for Team Intersect. Entering the front area, Sarah reported to General Beckman's secretary and took a seat next to Chuck.

"Wonder why Beckman wanted to see us before we entered the file rooms?" Chuck's foot wasn't bouncing up and down, and he appeared calmer than the last time he was here and pulled his weapon, but Sarah picked up the tremor in his voice.

"Calm down, sweetie. I'm sure she needs us to sign the standard disclosure statements. Especially considering the level of clearance we've been granted." Sarah took his hand and noticed that it was a bit clammy.

Sarah thought back to the first time she held his hand and noticed that it was clammy. She could still remember him telling her that his palm sweated when he was nervous. He had come a long way from the long curly hair, nerd gear, and signature Converse shoes. He was wearing a nice fitting heather grey suit and light purple shirt, with chocolate brown shoes and belt, but deep inside he would always be her innocent, good-natured, lovable nerd, and she prayed every night that wouldn't change, ever.

"I don't know why I'm so nervous. It's just that we might learn the entire project history and possibly see into some of the things behind our early missions." He gave her a small smile.

Suddenly Sarah became nervous. She wondered what was in those files. She thought to the times she fought behind the scenes to keep him from danger. Her mind wandered to the days she spent in DC with Shaw discussing Chuck's future and her reports on his performance. She had always told Chuck how amazing he was face to face but in those reports she called him an underperformer bordering on adequate. She wanted to stop him from becoming a spy. She wanted to prevent the change she thought she was witnessing in him, from him ceasing to be 'her Chuck'. _If those files are in there, what will he think after the previous blow up over Shaw?_

"Chuck, before we go in to meet the General, and before we review reports, there is something I just remembered and I need to tell you about before we start."

"Ok."

"Look, when I was here with Shaw, and we were discussing your future, I gave you poor reports."

"Why? How could you?"

"I didn't want you to be a spy. Remember we covered how I felt about that time, and how I was so afraid of who you were becoming, how 'my Chuck' was disappearing. So, I lied about your true brilliance and abilities to try and slow the process, to stop 'my Chuck' from leaving me." She looked at him with a look of true contrition and tears in her eyes.

"Oh, Sarah, I understand. Come here, baby." Then Chuck held her and pulled her into his shoulder. "I understand. You thought you were protecting me and you were scared. I get it. I love you and I forgive you."

"I love you too. Even then, I was just so confused."

As Chuck leaned down to kiss her upturned face, they heard their names being called.

"Agents Carmichael, the general will see you now."

Entering Beckman's office Chuck noticed it still looked the same. The walked a straight line from the door to the two chairs sitting before her desk and took their seats.

"Sarah, Chuck, welcome to headquarters. I hope you had a good flight and slept well last night."

"We did, General." Sarah spoke for both of them as she smoothed her light grey pencil skirt.

"Good. There are a few things I want to discuss with you before you get started. First, you'll have an armed guard to prevent anyone from entering the room we established for you, and to prevent you from taking anything from the room. Next, you'll have to leave all electronic devices with the guard. I have ordered an old barracks style bed be placed in the room. However, you will need to take breaks for food."

"Thank you, General. We understand the increased security." Chuck nodded to the general while lightly brushing his hand against Sarah's hand.

"Excellent. Your guards will be Major Noble and Major Dunwoody."

"Alright, Ricky and Vicky back with Chuck and Sarah. Should be fun." Chuck made a small grimace as he interrupted.

"Agent, they have knowledge of the Intersect, and therefore, our a logical choice for securing your mission."

"Chuck" Sarah turned to give Chuck a look that told him to be quite, "understand and our fine with whomever you choose to secure your facility."

"Thank you. As I was saying, they will operate in shifts to ensure you have twenty-four hour access. Now, I need you to sign a few non-disclosure agreements before you leave the office."

"Ok, are we dismissed to begin our search?" Chuck asked while placing his hands on the armrest preparing to get up.

"Not yet. I need… I want to… This job is a tough job and often times we make decisions that our not easy and seem harsh. Sometimes those decisions are made under the influences of others, and they don't always coincide with what normal society finds acceptable. Sometimes even we don't like what we must order, even if it's in the best interest of the country."

"You're talking about burning assets, right General?" Chuck settled back in and fixed his eyes on her.

"Agent Bartowski, Chuck, former Director Graham and I made many decisions in the early stages of the Intersect project. I'll not apologize for any of those decision, since I believed at the time they were the right ones to make, but I want you two to understand one of those decision, as it could effect team operations, and it's a an order I'm particularly happy I got to rescind." Beckman held Chuck's gaze and never waivered in her composure, but in her eyes Sarah could see the emotional storm.

"You handed down a termination order on Chuck?" Sarah couldn't believe what she saw in the general's eyes. Well she could believe it, but she never knew of such an order.

"Wait. You ordered me terminated? When?"

"How come I was never read in one this order?"

"Please, let me tell you what all happened, and I hope you understand my position then and now."

Sarah glared straight ahead, and Chuck simply nodded.

Beckman sighed, "When the second Intersect computer was scheduled to come online Langston and I held several meetings over your future as an asset. He believed your emotions and connection with Agent Walker created a liability. He felt that if we let you remain in public you would attempt to make contact or try to track Sarah down and compromise her, or yourself. We didn't know how much of a flash you retained in your memory. Therefore, he wanted you terminated, and I eventually agreed. Sarah, we both felt you were compromised and therefore, we didn't want you emotionally compromised on the mission we had lined up for you."

Beckman took a pause, but neither agent made an attempt to stop her or ask questions.

"Therefore, as Graham led a team of agents to the upload room, I order Colonel Casey to execute the termination order. He argued against the order, but reluctantly moved forward to carry out the order. As he was preparing to… Well, according to his report, Walker showed up at the door and informed you about the explosion that killed Graham and the others. Casey understood what that meant, and extracted himself from your apartment."

"Sarah, did you know?"

"No sweetie, I didn't know, and I assure you Casey didn't know I was coming over for a real date. If he had…" Sarah stopped herself; her emotions were threatening to overflow.

"That right there, is why we didn't include you. We knew you tried to stop Longshore from taking Chuck to a bunker, and even suspected you struggled with taking him down." The general looked at her, always wanting to know when Sarah began to place Chuck above the job.

When Sarah's face slid into what called agent mode, everyone in the room knew.

"Your guy?" Chuck looked at her remembering her words to Longshore.

"Always." Sarah relaxed a little.

"Sarah, I'm not judging you now. Just like I'm asking you'll to not judge me. Casey told me he knew you were coming over. He was going to wait for you to arrive and then pull the trigger. He wanted you to take him down after the termination."

"And I was compromised? I was given the 49B?" Sarah looked even angrier.

"Sarah, he didn't tell me until after Chuck uploaded 2.0. He fought against Prague and fought for local training. I didn't listen and what he claimed would happen did, we nearly lost Chuck as a functioning Intersect, the team nearly dissolved, and the Ring almost won."

"Thank you for telling us. I'm not happy about learning this, but at least I understand what we might read later. Besides, you're not the only one telling me things before I start reading these files. Guess I'll need to read everything with a very thick skin." Chuck looked a little shaken but he was maintaining his composure well.

"Chuck, Sarah, there is two times in our history that I regret being persuaded into a decision I didn't agree with. The termination order was the first, and including Shaw on your team is the second. You and Casey are my best agents, and our country would've suffered if not for your unique team. Please, know that you've got my deepest respect, but I'll always have a job to do, and from time to time I may issue orders you don't like, but when I can I'll do my best to protect you and your family."

Sarah looked at the general, "Thank you. May we begin?"

"Absolutely, good luck team."

-0-

"Sarah, I got to confess I'm a little nervous about what we might learn in here." Chuck says looking around at the stack of boxes.

Sarah just looks at him.

"I mean after your confession and the general's, there is no telling what we might learn."

"Come on, Chuck. I'm sure we're going to find some hard things but we need to get started. We'll never win this war being afraid of the past." She looked confident, but Chuck heard the slight hitch in her voice.

"Well looks like there in chronological order. Do want to work together for a while or start our shifts now?" Chuck asked.

"Let's work together."

They settled in and began to work. It wasn't long before Chuck was stepping out for painkillers for the flash induced headache. He brought back some for Sarah as well.

"Chuck, this hurts after awhile." Sarah said rubbing her temples.

"Look at this way, this version is easier on the head than the first version." Chuck shrugged.

"Oh my poor man." Sarah draped her arms over his shoulders and placed her hands on his chest. She kissed him on the neck. "How did you ever handle those days where we made you sit there hours on end reviewing files?"

"Excedrin Migraine."

"Do you mind if I lay down?" Sarah asked walking to the bed.

"Of course not. I'm used to this." Chuck rubbed his temples and opened the next box.

While Sarah slept, he became engrossed in looking at the reports of how drugs were used to help certain "programing objectives" take root. As he read it was theorized that a steady supply of drugs over an eight to ten year period might allow certain triggers to remain forever engrained in the Omaha candidates. It appears that the scientist began to give up on a human host, and simply started looking for ways to program other objectives.

"What?!" Chuck didn't mean to exclaim out loud, but what he read took him by surprise.

"Hmmm.. Chuck?" Sarah mumbled in a very sleepy voice.

"Sorry, just got carried away, go back to sleep." He whispered.

"No, that's ok, what is it?" Sarah asked as she sat up on the edge of the bed.

"It seems that the project planners and the scientist like my dad didn't work hand in hand. Men like my dad and Hartley were guarded and really didn't work with the encoding. They knew about wanting to put a cover into agents, obviously… hello, Volkoff. However, after Hartley's issue they decided to not encode covers in the Intersect. What they didn't realize they decided use drugs to implant code phrases that triggered certain actions."

"Does the files list those codes?" Sarah asked walking over and looking through the files in front of Chuck.

"No, at least not yet. I did notice that after the initial project dates, the files began to stored according to candidate code names."

"Chuck, why don't you lay down, and I'll take over. You've got a bad headache, I can see it in your eyes." She reached out and started messaging his neck and shoulders.

"Ok."

He got up and went over to the bed. Slipped off his shoes and laid down. He took a few deep breaths and smiled to himself. The blankets and pillows smelled like Sarah.

After a few hours, he rolled over and opened his eyes. Sarah had her back to him, but he could hear her quietly sniffing and could see her shoulders slightly rising and falling.

Crossing over to her, he asked, "Honey, what's the matter."

She handed him a file on her father. He quickly started reading through it and logging mental notes. "Wow. You're dad was a potential candidate at one time."

"Yeah. It seems that his ability to remember details and separate numerous aliases landed him on the radar as a potential Volkoff, so to speak, but when he got too well known by the criminal underground they decided not to pursue him."

"Yet that explains the reason Graham was at his arrest. They simply moved to the next generation like they did with me." Chuck held her hand as he spoke.

"It also explains why my mom dropped me at my grandmothers… her mom's home." Sarah still had tears falling. "Chuck, how long has the CIA been after our families? Can we end this before it claims our children?"

"I don't know babe. Let's look at some other boxes. By the way, what was your dad's codename?"

"Face."

"Face, alright." He says looking at the label on the side of the box.

"Here's an interesting one… Kris Munroe." Chuck nudges the box with his elbow.

"Why is that interesting?" Sarah looks at him.

"You know… Kris Munroe? Charlie's Angels? I see we still have more culture training to conduct." Chuck starts digging the box out.

"Please, don't tell me we're going to have to purchase those on DVD too?" Sarah laughs.

Chuck opens the box and sees a pretty little blonde girl with a blonde woman who looks like they might be mother and daughter. When he pulls the second folder he sees the same girl a little older with her father. He immediately pulls a folder from the middle and sees Jenny Burton.

"Sarah? I think your Kris Munroe. Look." She holds all three photos.

"Let me see those." Chuck pulls the next folder, and begins reading. He reads more and then he gasps.

"Hey Sarah, we'll always have Omaha."

"Chuck, why do I have a sudden urge to go meet up with Bryce? I know he's dead, but it's almost as strong as when he left the Buy More that one day."

"Just one second and I'll answer that, but first tell what you feel when I say, 'I always enjoy our time together, Mrs. Anderson'."

"Now I've got an urge to…" Sarah stopped herself and bit her bottom lip.

"To what? Sleep with Bryce?" Chuck asks without looking up from the sheet of paper in his hand.

"Yeah." Sarah says quietly.

"How about 'give it up you failed'?"

"No, I can fix this!" Sarah looks very confused at this point, "Why did I just say that?"

"One more and I'll tell you. "Miss me?'"

"I want to fall in your arms and do what ever you ask, but why?"

"Because they programed you to respond to those prompts. It appears from this medical report they were slipping you special birth control pills that contained a dose of the same drug they use to keep you susceptible to these prompts."

"You mean to tell me that Bryce and Graham knew about this list?"

"Worse, according to this report, you didn't like working with Bryce and wanted a different partner. In fact, you wanted to return to working with one of the CATS."

"Yeah, I know, I lived it."

"What you don't know, is that's when you were given the drug in your pills. It looks like Bryce and Graham created this list together, or at least Bryce knew the list of commands. All for the purpose of making you work with him, and commit yourself to him in every possible way. Remember my mom said she got a bit of intelligence about that being their plan for the two of you."

"Ok, but I was on the pill when he came back from Fulcrum? I didn't sleep with him and I didn't leave with him."

"No but you struggled against those ideas." Chuck looked a little sad.

"Chuck, I was almost out the door, and then you called and I saw your face." She had tears in her eyes thinking about almost walking away from Chuck.

"You see that's the issue. Even with the drugs, there was always a small probability that if anyone under these treatments formed a stronger bond than the drug induced one, they could resist."

Sarah looked at him with complete surprise on her face.

"That's right. You already loved me so deeply you were able to resist. That may've been the real reason why Graham didn't let you know about the order. Additionally, it may've been his confirmation of compromise."

"I feel so betrayed."

"Sarah, baby. I do too, but we need to dig deeper and see what more we can find. I wonder how Carina and Casey are holding up?"


	9. Chapter 9 - Serbian Revenge

**A/N: Don't own Chuck. Tried to get this out this past weekend, but a party for a young man who shipped off to basic training to be a Navy diver happened. Anyways, this has not been Beta read, so all mistakes... Well... sorry for those. Enjoy the chapter. **

Chapter 9 - Serbian Revenge

1130 EST/0830 PST

As Chuck ran into the Buy More he could see Sarah engaged in a fight. Chuck looked on in amazement as Sarah and another dark haired agent dispatched enemy after enemy. He couldn't make out who was helping Sarah but he was thankful. Just as Chuck neared the battle he took out one agent, and they took out the remaining two agents. He quickly bent over to catch his breath; he had sprinted across the parking lot, and fought his way to his beloved. As he tried to get enough air to speak, he heard the dark hair agent say, "Wow! Sarah, this just proves we will always have Omaha."

The in horror watched as Sarah moved into the agent's arms, "Daniel, take me away from here and this life."

"Of course baby. I knew you missed me. You did miss me right?" Shaw smirked at Chuck just before he kissed Sarah's neck.

"Stop it, you keep kissing me like that and we will never make it back to your room."

"Sarah, what are you saying? Snap out of it, this is a project Omaha effect." Chuck has tears in his eyes as he reaches out to grab her arm.

Sarah quickly flashed and soon Chuck was lying on his back looking up at her. Shaw stood behind her and looked over her shoulder at Chuck. He pulled her hair back and whispered in her ear.

Sarah's face became hard. Chuck had seen that look before. It was the same look she had when she was going to kill him for Quinn. He watched as time slowed to slow motion, and Sarah removed the gun from behind her back and pointed it at Chuck.

"Go ahead, and then we can go the CIA doctors and have his fetus removed from you. Together we can become the greatest spies… together!"

Chuck begged Sarah to come back to herself as she pulled the trigger. Just as the muzzle flashed he heard….

"Chuck, wake up honey. Wake up." Chuck opened his eyes and saw Sarah sitting beside him on a bed. Chuck looked around and then it dawned on him. He was still in the file room. He must have went to sleep and dreamed that his Sarah….

"Are you ok, baby?" Sarah was genuinely concerned. She had heard him mumbling in his sleep begging her to not kill him and the baby. He was begging her to stay with them.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It was just a bad dream, a really bad dream. It seems my mind is playing tricks on me and playing on some of my deep rooted insecurities."

"Chuck, we're almost done here. We have spent nearly two days going through some really twisted information. Perhaps you want to tell me about your dream. From what I heard, as you spoke out, it was bad. Especially if I was going to hurt you and our baby in your dream."

"Ok. No secrets and no lies means I should probably tell you. The scene was the Buy More and it looked like it did when Bryce and you fought off all those Fulcrum agents. Yet, this time I was already a spy and I was running to save you, and I knew we were married. However, just as I got there, it turns out Bryce was Shaw and he began giving you Omaha phrases. You ran into his arms, begged him to take you to his hotel room, and then he whispered a command that made you want to kill me, and just before you did, he told me you guys were going to abort our baby."

"Oh, Chuck"

"Sarah, in my dream I saw the muzzle flash." Chuck had tears in his eyes.

"Baby, remember I've got to be taking the drug, and I've got to somewhere deep down want to be with that person. Remember our love beat Bryce when he actually attempted that phrase after the fight in the Buy More."

"I know, it's just as I lay down, I remembered something you told me."

"What was that?"

"The last time Shaw attacked us. You know during the Omen Virus situation?"

Sarah sat there thinking back. She remembers carrying stuff up the stairs and as the door to Castle opened, Shaw was standing there. _What was it he said? Oh crap!_

"Shaw asked me if I missed him. "

"Right! He knows Sarah, he knows about the list of commands, or at least your list." Chuck takes her hands and traces his hand over the scar on her left hand.

"Chuck, my scar. When I was trying to escape, Shaw kept taunting me. He told me knew everything about me. He knew that my scar came from trying to catch a throwing star in Calgary."

"Ouch! You actually tried to catch a throwing star?"

"Yes, but that is not what matters. He knows more than we though he knew. He knew about the baby, he knew about the commands, maybe he knew how they were still trying to give me the Omaha drugs."

"Sarah, what changed after we left the CIA? I mean what changed in your diet, or I don't know, medical care, vitamins, I mean what changed? There's got to be a clue in there somewhere?"

"Well my medical care did change. When we left the CIA we were no longer able to see agency doctors, so I asked your sister to help me get certain medical essentials."

"Such as?"

"She gave me a physical, helped me with pain killer prescriptions when we had injuries, and just general care."

"Ok. Did she change a name brand or something else?"

"I stopped using birth control pills. I thought that one day we might want a family, and when we decided, I knew you needed to be off of them for awhile, so I stopped taking them."

"So, do you think they were placing the drug in your CIA issued birth control pills?"

"I wouldn't put it past them, but I stopped taking all daily meds like birth control from the CIA after Bryce and Ryker. I just lost a certain level of trust, and I decided to actually get my pills from a medical contact I made here in DC."

"Sarah, I think we need to see if we can find out if they placed the drug in your birth control. Do you think female agents are more dedicated and less likely to go rogue than male agents?"

"No. I've seen as many rogue females as I've seen males." Sarah shakes her head as if she is sad by that statement.

"Well let's get out of here and head back to your safe house. We can contact Carina and begin planning our next step."

"Ok, but there is one thing you need to fix before we go. It is **our** safe house. What is mine is yours, and what is yours is mine. Got it?" Sarah held both her hands on his face so he had to look her in the eye.

"Got it." Chuck nodded. "I stand corrected. Let's get out of here and head back our safe house. We can contact Carina and begin planning our next step."

"Better. Let's go. I'm sure the Greta team wants to get some rest too." Sarah smiles and pulls Chuck off the bed and heads for the door.

-o-

Meanwhile, back in Burbank.

**Get out before noon. There is a big surprise headed the Colonel's way.**

**Got it. Should I spring Hart? – Fisher**

**Negative. This should tie up another loose end, while striking a devastating blow to our enemies.**

**Roger – Fisher**

Agent Fisher made his way from the bunk area to the central conference room where Morgan and Casey sat eating breakfast.

"So any news from the Bartowskis?" Fisher asked as he took his seat.

"Yeah, mission accomplished. Wheels up at 1500 DC time." Casey states between spoons of cereal.

"Great. Look Colonel, I need to run a few errands today. Think I can get out of here just before lunch, and I can bring us all something back?"

"Ooh, Casey, some sandwiches from Lou's would be awesome. You know since she doesn't remember us capturing her, and since Chuck is not here, so we want be banned by Sarah from visiting 'home wrecking wench's' deli." Morgan looks very excited about getting some fresh food.

"Fine. Get me a chicken salad sandwich on whole grain." Casey orders. "Check on the prisoners, and then get out of here."

Fisher exits the conference room and makes his way down the corridor to the prisoner cells.

"Did you get the tracker on him?" Morgan whispers across the table, while looking back over one shoulder and then the other.

Casey simply grunts. _Of course I did, moron!_

-o-

Outside the Buy More a lone figure moved along the building stopping every so often to place small boxes at the base of the wall. It had been nearly six years since he was in this parking lot. Back then a curly haired man tried to alert people to his presence in Large Mart. Luckily, people thought he was crazy. Of course, that same curly haired man, a blonde woman, and a large man in a suit stopped his bomb from taking out an American general. Now was step one of pay back, and the best part it was contract work.

Vuc Andric finished his work around the Buy More, and quickly moved over to the Orange Orange. He has watched these buildings for days. Ever since he received the contract he has been planning. He saw people go in the Orange Orange and come out the Buy More docks. He figured their spy base was under both of those locations. He also observed that the couple was missing but the large agent was still there. He couldn't wait for the others to return, he knew that today was the day to strike.

When he finished placing his charges along the walls of the frozen yogurt shop, he climbed back in his van. Now he had to wait until noon. The queen had spoken and if he wanted Richardson to pay, he knew he should listen to her. She was really a witch. He never knew someone so pretty could be so cold. Oh well, strike here today, and then strike again tomorrow in the residential area.

He finished packing all the explosives in his van, and turned his attention to studying the overhead image of the parking lot. He needed to locate the perfect position for the van. Once, he detonated the van and all the other remote charges, it should create a chain reaction that causes both store, the parking lot, and some of the near buy stores to collapse into the spy base, and the after effect should look like a large sink hole. Sure people would die, but he was a patriot, and the Americans had taken down his leader, Radovan Milosevik.

_Today I pay back many. I take down those who oppress us, and I take down one of their key agents. This is personal on two levels, and the money is good. Today, I'll strike fear into the hearts of America._

-o-

1500 EST/1200 PST

Chuck, Sarah, and Carina boarded the Gulfstream and taxied down the runway. Their departure was on time. Their destination was Las Vegas. They were going to land in Sin City and from there, drive to the CIA super maximum prison between Las Vegas and Los Angeles. The underground facility is one the best-kept secrets in the nation, and few realize it is there when they drive by. Sarah felt a shiver about the last time she was there. Shaw had basically threatened her mother and adopted sister.

In addition to Shaw, it housed Panzer, Chandler, and various other members of Fulcrum and the Ring. It should be mostly empty of people from such traitorous organizations, but with Chuck's penchant for not killing, it was beginning to be filled with the worst of the worst.

For this flight home, Chuck and Sarah chose to use the pilot service for Carmichael Industries. Chuck and Sarah had immediately retired to the bedroom to truly sleep together as they had only slept in small shifts throughout the past 48 hours, and never were they a sleep together. They simply missed straight sleep, especially sleep that occurred in the arms of their lover.

Carina sat in the forward cabin thinking about her encounter in DC. She wondered if the man she connected with was a player in this particular round in the game of shadows. He was a young lawyer, well young for a lawyer, who decided to show her attention as she dropped hints that she worked for General Beckman's office. He assumed that she was a secretary and she was not going to blow the cover he gave her. Eventually, she let him know she worked for one of the Beckman's satellite offices on the West Coast. He seemed a little to eager to know which one, and that made her spy senses kick into full gear. Pretending to be tipsy on their second date allowed her to take some selfies with her camera, and soon his image would be ran through all the databases under the control of the DEA, CIA, and NSA. She may even contact a friend over at the FBI.

As Carina, continued in thought the cabin speakers came to life.

"Mr. and Mrs. Carmichael, Miss Miller, there is an incoming secure satellite feed from a Miss Beckman. Her office says they have an urgent business need to discuss with you. I'm patching her through, and removing the pilot's cabin from monitoring capability. Connection begins in thirty-seconds."

"Agent Miller, where are the Carmichaels?" Beckman didn't look herself. He hair was falling from its normally well-held position, and her eyes looked red around the rim.

"They are sleeping, ma'am." Carina continued to study Beckman's composure. She had not looked this distressed since her rescue.

"Please, get them. Chuck and Sarah need to hear this, and then you all have a difficult decision to make. I need them here in…. just a minute."

Beckman turns to Major Malik who appeared on screen. Carina could see them whispering. Carina swears she could see Beckman's throat rise and fall a few times like she was swallowing, and her hand begin to tremble.

"Carina," Beckman turned her attention back to her. "I need to speak to all three of you immediately. Chuck and Sarah need to get up here, like yesterday."

"Right. Moving." Carina quickly made her way to the bedroom and knocked on the door.

"Chuck, shoot her." Sarah burrowed down further into Chuck's neck.

"Carina, what do you want? We're trying to sleep here. Please, have mercy and go away."

"Beckman's on the monitor and I would've made excuses, but I think something bad has happened. I've never seen her this upset and distressed." Carina called through the door.

"She's always mad. Now go away!" Sarah called out.

"Seriously guys. I really think something bad has…" Carina stopped and took a step back as Chuck opened the door fully dressed. Sarah was behind him rubbing her eyes. "…happened."

"Ok, let's go find out what the emergency is today." Chuck rolled his eyes and took Sarah's hand to lead her into the forward cabin.

"Chuck, Sarah, I've got…." Beckman stopped when her voice cracked.

The three agents stood completely still. They all knew she wasn't a robot. The years together had proven that over and over again. Sure she was tough, and she could be a 'Grade A Witch', but they knew she had some depth to her feelings. Whenever any of them looked back on this moment, they realized they never knew the depth of her love for their team and how lonely leadership can be for those called to lead.

"Excuse me… I've got some bad news. Castle was attacked just as you took off from the airport. We don't know the extent of the damage in terms of human life. We do know that Carmichael Industries office, the Orange Orange, the Buy More, the parking lot between the stores, and a few bordering stores have all collapsed into Castle. To the world it looks like a giant sink hole triggered by an unfortunate vehicle accident, but we believe it was a deliberate attack."

"General, what happened?" Sarah immediately in agent mode had her professional game face on before Beckman.

"It appears a cargo van lost control and slammed into another vehicle igniting a vehicle fire that resulted in the van exploding."

"General, what really happened?" Carina spoke up prompting Beckman to go beyond the emerging cover story.

"We believe an unknown party drove and parked a cargo van in a strategic location, and remote detonated explosives along the outside of our buildings, and the van. The combined power caused the entire area to collapse inside Castle."

"General, where are Colonel Casey and the remainder of the team?" Chuck asked as his voice trembled and his face expressed extreme worry for his team mates.

"Chuck… I'm sorry. It's with my deepest regret to inform you that Colonel Casey and Morgan Grimes were inside Castle at the time of the explosion."

Chuck's head immediately fell in hands, and he started to weep. Sarah's hand covered her mouth and her other hand found itself resting on Chuck's shoulder. Carina sat there with her eyes filled with tears trying hard not to cry in front of her commanding officer.

"Team, I was on a conference call with Colonel Casey concerning Agent Fisher. He was outside of Castle on a lunch run. It was then that Agent Grimes saw the van and pointed it out to Casey. Colonel Casey immediately forced them to run from the conference area back towards the detention cells. Then everything went out. I immediately got satellite imagery on the site, and watched as the entire complex collapsed. While, there is always a chance of survival, we don't hold out any hope. I'm…. I'm deeply sorry… for your loss. Beckman out." General Beckman cried as she cut the feed.

"Captain, get her back on the line." Chuck commanded the pilot.

A few minutes later Beckman reappeared a little more composed.

"What is it Chuck?"

"We're going to continue with our plan to interrogate Shaw. Only difference is we'll transport him to a secure location on the east coast. Any suggestions?"

"I know the perfect place. I'll send the information via secure channels once you're airborne. File flight plans for Charleston, SC. Agents Bartowski, may I speak to Agent Miller alone please."

"Yes, ma'am." They said in unison and then went to the sitting area outside the sleeping quarters.

"Carina, are you ok?" Diane Beckman asked the young agent.

"Yeah. You know I liked Johnny a lot?" Carina looked into Beckman's eyes.

"I do. I let you on this team to provide you with something I never could provide." Beckman had a tear roll down her cheek.

"I know. Don't worry none of the team knows about our relationship. Mom would be proud of you and how you lead."

"Your mother was the best spy I knew, and the best little sister a woman could have in life. I promise you dear, we're going to get these guys for your mom and John. Benetti and his crew will go down for the pain they caused our family." Beckman face was set and her lips formed a thin straight line of resolve.

"Yes, ma'am. I trust you." Carina looked at her aunt.

"I'm proud of you sweetheart. Now let's push all the pain down and complete the job."

"Yes, ma'am." Carina signed off and turned to go in the back to talk to Sarah and Chuck. _It's time they knew my past. They just can't let Aunt Diane know they know._

-o-

Minutes Earlier.

"General, I hate to inform you, but I think Agent Fisher is a mole." Colonel Casey stood at attention before the small red-haired general.

"That's a serious accusation, Colonel. What proof do you have?"

"Casey, look at the monitor. Quick look."

"Oh, crap! Run! This way moron."

"Colonel, what's going there in…."

The monitors went out with the first tremors, and then it seemed like the whole place began to shake and cave in on top of Casey and Morgan.

Casey led Morgan down the Greta Intersect extension and right through the sliding doors. The last thing they saw before the doors closed was a wall of fire rolling down the hallway towards them. Then the lights went out and the place shook.

When the room stopped shaking, Casey felt around the supply cabinets until he felt the familiar metallic feeling package. He tore the package open and snapped the ChemLight. Immediately the area was lit by a strange yellow-green glow. He quickly opened several more and tossed them in a circle around him. There under a table curled into the fetal position was Morgan.

"Grimes, you ok?"

"Casey, you're alive? What happened? How are we still alive?"

"Are you complaining? This room was designed to survive a nuclear blast. Looks like it held true to its design. We got to wait for them to dig us out now. Come here."

Morgan crawled over the Casey and wrapped his arms around the big man. Casey growled as he pealed Morgan off. He grabbed his right wrist and pushed a button on his watch. The face began to glow red.

"What was that?"

"Homing beacon. It operates up to 250 feet below ground. They won't dig if they don't know where here."

-o-

"General?" Major Malik stuck his head inside her office.

"Yes, Major?" She asked with an eyebrow raised and a very sour expression. The major would be dead of looks could kill. All she wanted was to be left alone.

"General, Agent Grime's emergency tracker just came online under a portion of the parking lot that did not collapse."

"Get a digging crew there immediately. Major, get me the Carmichaels and Miller on the line."

**A/N: I started to kill off a main character, but I couldn't do it. Started to leave a cliff hanger, but I couldn't do that either. Leave a review. I read them and consider them.**


	10. Chapter 10 - Matters of Life

**A/N: Hope this answers a few review questions. Chapter helps transition us to a new phase. Don't own Chuck.**

Chapter 10 - Matter of Life

Minutes Later

"Mr. and Mrs. Carmichael, I have another call from Mrs. Beckman." The pilot announced throughout the cabin. "Connection in two minutes."

All three spies moved to the monitor and waited for the general to appear. Each of them suspected the worst news.

"Agents, I've got some encouraging news. Agent Grime's emergency tracker came on under a portion of the parking lot that has not been damaged by the blast."

"Ma'am, can you pull up where exactly the beacon is indicating his presence?" Chuck immediately pulled up the layout for Castle.

Chuck looked at the screen and at the CIA plans for Castle, then back to the screen.

"General, these plans don't include the extension that was added when Bentley conducted her Intersect trials. Where these ever updated?" Chuck asked.

"No, we felt that we needed to keep any actual research being conducted outside of DARPA on a very short list, to include the files that were stored." General Beckman was now back on the screen looking at her team.

"Just a second General." Chuck pushed the internal intercom button. "Captain, turn around and head back to the airfield outside of DC."

"Chuck, what is gong on?" Sarah asked grabbing his arm as he once again turned his attention to his computer.

"Agent Bartowski, why are you deviating from the mission directives?" Beckman asked in a voice that only showed a slight tinge of annoyance. Over the years she had become accustomed to giving great latitude to this team.

"Ma'am, someone in your circle is a mole, or is being used by a mole. These plans are top secret. Additionally, they are aware of the team's movements. I know this sounds bad, but divert some of the agents involved in the cleanup to conduct a sweep of Echo Park. They should look for similar explosives, but this time expect to find a timer."

"What makes you think there would be explosives at the apartment complex?" Carina asked a little concerned.

"If I'm right, the timer will be set to explode sometime tomorrow morning. Our flight plans filed in all offices, to include your office, general, have us heading straight home and landing about midnight. That means if we follow protocol, we would have a debriefing around 0900 hours. Furthermore, that debriefing would be conducted at one of the apartments due to the explosion today."

"So, the bomber thinks we would come home, sleep, and get up in time for the meeting, and blam… eliminate the remainder of the team." Sarah stated as she looked proud of her husband for thinking of the possible plan. She wrapped her arm around him and smiled.

"Agent Bartowski, how do you come up with this stuff?" Beckman asked with an amused look on her face.

"Among many other things, it's what I would do if I wanted to take out your best agents." Chuck looked deadly serious.

"Well, let's all thank the heavens above Chuckles is on our side. Otherwise, we would have two very scary rogue spies to try and take down." Carina laughed. "No way Sarah is turning against her man."

"Right." Sarah often wondered if she would take Chuck down if he turned rogue. She didn't take Bryce down when she first saw him again.

"Yes, we're all very lucky to have Chuck on your team." Beckman didn't look amused at the direction of this conversation.

"Thank you, General. Please, let us know when you hear more about Echo Park, and about Casey and Morgan." Chuck gave the general his big innocent smile.

"Will do. Chuck, seriously, we should talk when you get back to DC about what you would do if you were the bad guy leading this organization we're fighting." Beckman looked very serious.

"I would love to do that."

"Beckman out!" The feed cut off and the three spies looked at one another.

-o-

Beckman quickly dispatched a team of agents to Echo Park. The team swept through the courtyard with pest control packs on their backs. They began "spraying" the bushes against the apartment complex structure while searching for any explosives. They discovered several charges strategically placed to bring down the entire complex. Additionally, they found a timer set for 0800 hours. They disarmed the explosives but left everything as though it was still operational to include the countdown timer.

"General, we found explosives and set everything as instructed." The lead agent informed Beckman over the phone.

"Roger. Tell no one about this, and get out of sight. Beckman out."

-o-

Beckman called her airborne agents and gave them the update on the explosives.

"General, I think it's wise to keep Fisher in the dark about anything we're discovering and to our adjusted agenda."

"I do too. I will notify all field teams that have contact or potential contact with Fisher. Let's set the bait and hook him." Beckman stated with a very serious look.

"Nice pun, General!" Chuck laughed.

"What? You're not the only one who is funny, Chuck." Beckman smiled at Chuck. "Beckman out!"

"Sweetie, do I need to worry about you two?" Sarah teased Chuck.

"Of course not, all though there's that one make out session at Christmas when we were trying to stop the Omen virus and rescue you from Shaw." Chuck states without thinking in a very casual way.

"Do What?!" Sarah springs up and stand over Chuck.

"Come on, Sarah. I told you about that." Chuck looks at her shocked.

"You most certainly did not!" Chuck knows he's in trouble when Sarah takes the time to say every word and doesn't use contractions.

Normally Carina would throw out a barb here, but it's her aunt and Chuck. _Eww!_

"Sure I did. Besides it was part of the job, we had to break into Decker's office, and when someone walked in… they caught us making out. They quickly left and we got what we needed."

"Um... No Chuck, you didn't tell me."

"I'm sorry, baby. In all the excitement of taking down Shaw and rescuing the love of my life, I must've forgotten to mention it to you." Chuck smiled his largest smile. The one reserved for Sarah.

"Don't try it. You're in the doghouse buddy. Just wait to we get home."

"Oh no, our house! Fisher knows about our house. Let me make a few phone calls. Do you trust me?"

"I don't know. I find out you're going behind my back with Beckman." She jokes.

"Ouch, that hurts."

"Yes, I trust you."

"Great." Chuck pulls out his phone.

"Hey, Big Mike… Chuck Bartowski, I need to ask you a favor"

"Bartowski, did that pretty woman of yours kick you out, cause if she did you can always stay with me and the sweet…"

"Uh, no. Listen, I need know if some of you guys would like to pick some change while the store is under reconstruction. Speaking of that, when do you think Subway will finish and reopen the store?"

Sarah was giving Chuck a sideways look with her eyes narrowed. He just shrugged his shoulders and made his eyes bigger.

"Boy, don't you watch TV. I thought you were a nerd? The store is no more. The ground just opened up and swallowed it like me with my morning pastries. You know that froyo store got swallowed too."

"What? Like a sinkhole? I didn't hear about that." Chuck lied, he hated it even after all these years, but he lied.

"Yeah, anyways. What did you want? We all could use a little more money while we wait, and wait, and wait. You know that store is my life?" Big Mike sounded sad to Chuck.

Chuck went on to describe Fisher to Big Mike, and to ask him to get together a stalker crew. It would've been easier with Jeff and Lester there, but they're pursuing their musical dreams, so he hoped Fernando and Skip could pull through like they did when he was searching for Sarah.

"Boy, I don't want to know why you want to know what another man is doing, but I got your back." Big Mike sounded confident.

"Thanks, Big Mike. Truth is, I think he wants to hurt Sarah, so I want to know what he's doing." Chuck told the truth from a certain point of view.

"Don't worry, we will be on him like glaze on a doughnut."

"Thanks again, Big Mike. Hey I got to go." Chuck hung up and released a big sigh.

-o-

Approximately 30 minutes later.

**Double check on the other members of your team**

**Roger, I'll text. – Fisher**

Agent James Fisher stood on the edge of the blast crater looking down into the hole and smiled. _Looks like Bartowski just became Hart's widower_. It's really too bad about Hart, she was a pretty girl. Oh well, back to work.

"Who's the AIC here?" Fisher began scanning the crowd of cleaners.

"I'm in charge." A man who looked to be in his mid-thirties identified himself as the agent in charge.

"What's the situation? Any possible survivors?" Fisher asked the lead agent.

"Negative. Hopefully we'll recover some DNA." The agent turned and went back to work. Fisher smiled and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

**C &amp; S, still on schedule to return – need help with cleanup – Fisher**

**Roger, late night arrival, staying at Echo Park with Carina and Alex, cya in morning – CB**

**Mi Amour – they are still scheduled to arrive and stay at Echo Park – Fisher**

**Wonderful… showtime is at 0800… keep me updated**

Fisher smiled and placed the phone back in his pocket. Just then the AIC walked up to him and notified him Beckman wanted a conference call in the command center.

Fisher climbed in the van and turned on the monitor.

"Agent Fisher, I need you to hold the fort there. Agents Carmichael and Miller are on their way back to your location. There is nothing more to do at the site, see if you can track down any information on Benetti. I expect a full brief tomorrow morning. I'll let you know when and where."

"Yes ma'am, I'm on it."

"Beckman out." The feed dropped and Fisher decided to take the rest of the day off.

He climbed out the van, got in his Tesla Roadster and headed for his hotel apartment. Little did he realize that the Buy More spy crew was tracking his movements.

"Skip, this Fernando. I got movement. See if you can access the camera at the parking lot intersection. I have got the cameras if he heads right. You got the ones left. Once we know be prepared the other has to be ready to track any turns he makes. We keep leap frogging from that point."

"Roger. Big Mike is following in his car." Skip is working hard in his bedroom to hack into all the Burbank traffic cameras.

"Hey Skip, should we use codenames?" Fernando asks seriously.

"Ok, I'm Big Red and you can be Pedro and we can vote for you."

"Sounds good. What about Big Mike."

"What about me, you fools?" Mike cut in on the radio talk.

"You need a code name." Skip told Mike while his fingers continued to work at a hurried pace on the keyboard.

"I don't need a code name. All I need is love of a woman, and just any woman, but one sweet hot Latin beauty."

"That's it. You're the Latin Lover." Skip was happy with giving Mike that code name. "Hey, he's headed right. Everyone track. We don't want to let King Nerd down."

"King Nerd?" Big Mike asked.

"Hello? Have you seen Mrs. Bartowski? Chuck's the King Nerd." Skip just shook is head. _Man, if we could all be so lucky._

"Boys, listen closely. I'm only going to say this once, but for once, you sure are right. Let's not fail Bartowski." Mike fell in behind Fisher trying to keep at least two cars between them.

-o-

Meanwhile underground

Casey and Morgan were accessing their situation.

"Morgan, look in the desk drawer over against the computer wall. See if I left in cigars in there." Casey pointed to where he wanted Morgan to look.

Both of them looked tired in the green glow of the ChemLights. They were starting to sweat through the clothes. Casey had already stripped down to his t-shirt and Morgan was down to his a-shirt.

"Casey now is not the time to smoke. Besides the surgeon general says that second smoke can kill you just the same as smoking yourself. Didn't you ever read that on one of those warning labels on the side of the box, or do they put those on cigar boxes." Morgan started to complain, as he remained stationary.

"Oh look my boot as a warning label. It says that people who don't do what I say may risk having my boot shoved so far…"

"Hey, there's no need for all that. I swear were you raised by Red Forman from '_That 70's Show'?" _Morgan asked as he crawled across the floor to the desk Casey indicated.

"I don't know who that is. Is that another one of your and Chuck's little geek shows?"

"No, it's about a group of teenagers growing up in the 70's and the lead dad is always talking about giving people a swift kick in the butt."

"Well that does solve a lot of life's problems." Casey smirked.

"You're so Red. He would say the exact same thing. Hey there's one here."

"Quick give it here and then be quite." Casey took the cigar and bit the end off.

Morgan watched. He couldn't believe Casey would want to smoke at a time like this. Then it hit him. _Oh no, Casey knows we're going to die. He's having one final smoke. We've been buried alive. Will they dig us out, to bury us? Poor Alex. She lost her dad and me in one day. I swear if we get out of here by some miracle, I'm asking Casey for her hand in marriage._

Casey looked over and there were tears flowing down Morgan's face.

"Why are you crying? Man up, and give me a hand." Casey started blowing smoke towards the ceiling. "Grab a light and hold it up so we can see if the smoke blows back down or get's sucked up. The last thing we want is for it to just hang."

"Why."

"If we can see it leave in one area, and blow down in another area, we can get fresh oxygen. If it hangs, we have all the oxygen we're going to get, and then time becomes an issue."

"I see it going out. Come on let's see if we can see it blow down somewhere else."

After trying a few more vents, they found one the slightly caused the smoke to push back.

"There, we got air coming in here. You know what that means, moron?" Casey pointed to the vent.

"Yeah, that means… no, I'm sorry… I don't what does it mean?"

"It means we can get out this way. It leads outside somewhere? Let's go, I lift you up."

Casey and Morgan began crawling through the ducts, with Casey blowing smoke every so often to try and determine what direction to travel. After what seemed like an eternity they saw the glow of daylight ahead.

Morgan, stuck is head out the hole where the duct work ended and looked around and then began to yell.

"Hey guys, help down here. Help!"

Just then one of the cleaners looked over to where he heard a voice and saw Morgan.

"Quick, give me a hand over here. They found a way out. Get me some rope."

It took about another thirty minutes to get both Casey and Morgan extracted from the rubble.

"Colonel Casey, General Beckman wants to talk to you and Agent Grimes."

Casey climbed into the command center with Morgan on his tail.

"Colonel, I'm so relieved you made it out. You too, Agent Grimes. Agents Carmichael and Miller are returning to the east coast. I've got two special missions for you."

"What do you need? Please, tell me it has to do with tracking down the commie who tried to kill us." Casey growled. Now that the life and death portion of his day was over, he could unleash a bit of his best-known emotion, anger.

"Yes and no. We hope that you're missions will lead to that eventual pay back, but right now we need to keep our eye on the prize, the take down of all Syndicate members." Beckman adjusted a few pieces of paper and took a deep breath.

"John, tomorrow morning I'll order Fisher to Echo Park for a debriefing. He believes that the rest of your team will be there. He doesn't know that you or Grimes are alive. Following a hunch of Chuck's, we found explosives rigged and timed to explode at 0800. We disarmed them, and fed him false information about the Bartowskis and Miller."

"Do you think he will show?" Casey snarled out.

"No, I don't. I think he'll show up late, and when he sees the apartments still standing will try to come up with an excuse."

"That's when we bag and tag?"

"Correct."

"General, why would him showing up late prove anything?" Morgan was confused and he looked like he was trying to figure this all out.

"We think he left just in time, because he knew about Castle. If he's late, it'll be enough to hold him for questioning." Beckman was extremely patient with Morgan, after all he did just survive a bomb blast.

"Right." Morgan looked like he was about to ask something else, so Casey cut him off.

"Once we apprehend him, where will the enhanced interrogation take place?" Casey inquired while giving Morgan a look to keep quite.

"Colonel, you're to bring Fisher, with a team of four agents as escort, to Langley. While on your way, you're to stop outside of Vegas and secure another prisoner and bring him with you as well."

"Who is this prisoner?" Casey knew but he wanted to confirm.

"Daniel Shaw. It's time for him to tell us all that his knows about Sarah and projects tied to her and Chuck."

"Yes, ma'am. Anything else?"

"Yes. Call your teammates. They're driving on, but they're worried about you."

"Roger. Will do."

"Beckman out."

"Agent, get me the Carmichael Industries jet online." Casey looked over to the communications specialist and nodded his head.

"Yes sir. Just a few moments."

"Hey everyone, we're alive." Casey announced when Chuck and Sarah, and Carina came on the screen.

"Johnny, I'm so glad you're ok. You too, Martin." Carina let out a laugh knowing how Morgan hated that.

"Funny Carina." Morgan rolled his eyes.

"Seriously, it's great to see you guys are ok." Sarah stated. "Baby Bartowski is going to need his uncles."

"Her uncles." Chuck corrected.

"Nope, I want a little man who looks just like his handsome daddy." Sarah swayed from side to side.

"Well I want a little princess who looks like her mommy, the queen of my life." Chuck stuck out his tongue.

"Yuck! Will you two knock it off, before I leap back into that pit." Casey announced speaking over Chuck and Sarah.

Morgan listening to Chuck and Sarah made a spur of the moment decision.

"Casey, I want your permission to ask Alex to marry me!" He blurted out before he lost his nerve.

"What?" Casey turned to look at Morgan and started to growl.

"John, don't do anything rash." Sarah called out.

Chuck took in the situation and decided he would give Morgan some advise. "Run little buddy, run."

"Come on Johnny. It's not like that haven't been making peanut butter cups for months now." Carina laughed and Sarah laughed. It was good for someone to use the peanut butter and chocolate line on Casey after all the times he pulled it on Sarah.

Casey growled louder.

Morgan whimpered, "Not helping, Carina."

"Wait 'till I get done here. Here and now was not the place for this conversation." Casey was more upset with Morgan's timing than with his intentions.

"Chuck, I'll see you tomorrow night. Morgan and I are bringing guests to the party."

When the connection dropped, Chuck turned to Sarah. "We don't need to return to the safe house. We need to find another place and then tomorrow before the team arrives we need to see if we can't get a lead on the mole in Beckman's inner circle."

"I know just the place. The Jefferson in DC has incredible rooms. I did a couple of missions to target some corrupt diplomats there, but never got the chance to stay. I would love to stay there with you."

"Sure baby, I book it online. I get Carina a room there as well. I'll book us for a week." Chuck pulled up the hotel. "Sarah, the rooms are $800 a night."

"Aren't I worth it. We're rich after all. Book under Carmichael Industries and we can write it off as a business expense." Sarah smiled as she twirled her hair with a fake pout.

"Woman, you're going to kill me one of these days."

**AN: This chapter was updated thanks to a review from Neale. While updating I also noticed at least one typo that was also corrected. As a writer, albeit amatuer, I try to research things because I want to things that are real to be real and accurate. **


	11. Seductions and Assassinations

**AN: Sorry for the delay. Teacher's returned for training two weeks ago, and students return tomorrow. Been a little busy. I hope you enjoy the chapter. Please, take the time to review, it takes but a moment. Thank you to all who review regularly and who are following this story. I'm curious how it's going to end.**

Chapter 11 –Seductions and Assassinations

The plane touched down and immediately taxied into a hanger. The passengers debarked and made their way to the waiting limo. Climbing in they left the airport and headed for their DC offices. Richardson and his assistant were not happy about being this close to their enemy.

In another hanger, the East Coast Team Bartowski members were also deplaning and making their travel arrangements for the Jefferson. This time all three would stay in close proximity of one another. They were not trying to hide their presence, in fact they were looking to make any members of the enemy organization nervous enough to slip up and reveal themselves.

Both groups eventually made their way to their hotels and settled in for as much rest as one could get in times like these.

Across the country the West Coast members were also preparing to get some well-deserved rest. They were settled into a local safe house.

"Dad, do you think Morgan and you are safe here? I mean what if Fisher knew about this safe house?" Alex asked with more than a little anxiety in her voice.

"Alex, we're fine. We have a full detail of agents in over watched, and tomorrow morning we're going to capture that little traitor and hang his sorry…"

"Hmmm… watch the language with a little one on the way we need to practice." Morgan interjected himself into Casey's verbalization of how they were going to make Fisher pay.

"Listen, Moron. Walker's not here and how can I forget there are little ones around, I see you everyday."

"I'm just trying to help you prepare yourself. No one wants to see you go down due to the wrath of Sarah." Morgan smiled while shaking his head. "We all know how scary she can be at times."

"I'm still going to see if we can hang his sorry… butt… from a yard arm." Casey growled out.

"Morgan, Dad, we need to get some sleep we have a busy day tomorrow. It all starts with a little snatch and grab." Alex smiled. She wanted Fisher badly.

-0-

"Chuck, what are you thinking about?" Sarah rolled over and propped herself on one elbow.

"How wonderful that was and how much I enjoy our time together." He smiled up at her.

"Good answer, but how about the truth now." She chuckled.

"Fine. I was thinking about where we go from here. The castle complex is gone, above and below ground. Hart is dead. We have no clue where Benetti or any of the others are located. We think there is a leak in the General's office, Shaw might know something, and Fisher is a traitor. We're really in the dark here."

"Oh, baby, I know, but I'm sure will discover something soon. Don't forget we also have a resource in my mom." Sarah laid her head down on his shoulder and snuggled in close.

"Oh crap! Our families. Sarah hand me my phone, and get your phone out as well." Chuck bolted straight into a sitting position.

"Chuck, why are freaking out?"

"The Orange Orange, the Buy More, and the offices of Carmichael Industries just collapsed in a massive sink hole. I'm sure the news reported that, and if our family…"

"Saw it they'll assume the worse."

"Right, so you call your mom, and I'll call Ellie."

-0-

Benetti stood on the edge of the hole. _This was no sinkhole. Either someone attach an underground base, their base, or they blew the base to keep it from falling into our hands._ _Now where do I go next?_

"Excuse me, sir? I think my wife was here shopping when this place sunk into the ground, and…. Have you recovered any… bodies?" Benetti grabbed one of the local clean up crewmembers.

"Sir you need to step back. We've been digging and so far we have discovered some casualties." The young agent let the man know. He felt sorry for him.

"Whose in charge here? I need to find out if my wife…"

"Sir, you can go over to that trailer and ask in there." The man pointed to the command center.

"Thank you."

Benetti knocked on the door. He was surprised with how quickly the door opened.

"Sir, I'm looking for my wife."

"Certainly, come in. We've been taking pictures of the victims trying to match them in databases so that we can notify families." The man was an analyst and not an agent. He wasn't on guard, so he began to share the photos. When Benetti saw Hart he started crying.

"That's her, that's her." The man offered his sympathy as Benetti just turned to leave.

_Great, the CIA team is gone, and Hart is dead. Crap, I guess I need to contact the man in DC who is my link to Richardson. But first, I need to find a place to hole up for the night._

-o-

It was the middle of the night when Chuck awoke. Sarah was curled up with her back against his side. He decided to get up, so he eased out of bed not wanting to wake her.

"Chuck, where are you going?" She didn't move; she just spoke when she felt him sliding out of bed.

"Can't sleep. Nothing is wrong, not even head busy, just can't sleep. Go back to sleep. I'm going to go watch a little TV."

"Ok, but I'm going to miss your warmth." Sarah sounded a little like a small child resigned but not totally happy.

Chuck just half-laughed, kissed her on the temple, and walked out being sure to close the bedroom door behind him.

He found the TV remote and began surfing the channels, not sure what channels carried what stations in DC. Soon he landed on an old Tom Clancy film. He liked the Jack Ryan character, he was always more analyst than CIA spy, but he could hold his own when the action required it. Plus, this Ryan was also Han Solo. As he watched the movie, it dawned on him. He knew how the leak was occurring in the General's office. They just needed to find out who was in love with the syndicate member.

-0-

When Sarah rolled over in the morning, she felt Chuck laying on his side of the bed so far over she was worried if rolled on his stomach he would land on the floor. She reached over and traced her finger lightly down his side and smiled when she felt him flinch. She decided it was, so she did it again, and this time he not only flinched but also moaned a little as he slapped her hand away.

"Chuuuck, tiiiime to wake up," Sarah whispered in his ear as she leaned over his shoulder.

Chuck rolled slightly over on his back, put his arm around her and began pressing his finger into the middle of her hack.

"Chuck, what're you doing?"

"Trying to hit the snooze button."

"Ha, ha you big nerd, get up and let's get some breakfast, we got to go see Beckman at 11, and it's already 9 here." Sarah started to roll away to her side of the bed, but Chuck grabbed her. "Let me go, Chuck."

"Hold on, give me a proper good morning kiss." He half commanded, half requested as he rolled her on her back and hovered over her.

"Chuck, just one kiss. Nothing more, we got to get some answers before Casey arrives later tonight."

Chuck leaned in to kiss her and then at the last minute started tickling Sarah's sides.

"Stop! I'm warning you! Stop!" Sarah cried as she wiggled to get away from Chuck while holding her elbows in close to her sides. Then it happened, Sarah got a far away look and her eyes rolled slightly back.

Chuck didn't know exactly what happened after he saw Sarah flash, all he knew was it felt like Sarah got a foot underneath him and launched him tumbling off the bed into the floor.

"Ouch!"

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm ok, but did you just flash your way out of being tickled?"

"I warned you, besides I choose the method least likely to cause injury. Now get up and join me in the shower. I'll let you make up for your blatant attack by washing my hair."

As she turned to walk away Chuck sprung up and ran up behind her. He reached out with both hands, gave her sides a quick tickle, and barely under the spinning back hand as he cried out, "Tag, you're it."

"Just wait, Chuck. Just wait. When…."

"Yeah, yeah, when I lest expect it you'll have your revenge." He laughed from bathroom.

Sarah gave a Casey style grunt and continued her march to the bathroom. _Oh Chuck, you don't even know the competition you've started. You poor man, I almost feel sorry for you. Almost._

Chuck was already in the Sarah, so Sarah walked over, looked at the toilet, and decided to take a chance. She reached out and flushed.

"Ah, hot, hot!" Sarah could hear Chuck trying to get out of the water.

_And that my dear husband is only beginning._

-0-

Approximately 45 minutes later, Ryan Peace was preparing to leave the breakfast dinner when a blast from the past walked through the door. _Well look what the cat dragged in for me. I don't who the geek is, but I'm sure I can get her away from him._

Chuck and Sarah walked in arm and arm. "See this doesn't look too bad." Chuck was saying as the scoped out the booths.

"Sarah? Sarah Walker?" Sarah's head snapped to a man about three booths into the dinner.

Peace slide out and stood before the couple. Chuck had his hand on her back and he felt her tense.

"It is you! It's great to see you again." Peace had a smirk on his face. "Bet you thought you'd never see me again."

_Hoped was more like it._ Sarah smiled, "Mr. Peace, how are you?"

"Oh come on Sarah, it's not like we were not on first name basis." His voice carried an implied undertone.

Chuck cleared his throat. "I see you already know my wife, but allow me to introduce myself, Charles Carmichael, co-owner and CEO of Carmichael Industries. And you are…?"

"Ryan Peace. One of DC's many lawyers and working in the private sector specializing in family law and defense law." He turned his attention back to Sarah, "I see we've both left the employment of Uncle Sam."

"Oh, Special Agent Carmichael and I aren't civilians, Carmichael Industries is our company but we keep ourselves officially busy within the intelligence community, no thanks to you. Isn't that right, honey?" Sarah smiled an extra sweet smile she reserved for scumbag marks.

"Yeah, Special Agent Carmichael, we certainly stay busy both on and off duty." Chuck kissed her cheek, and smiled a back off smile at Peace.

Peace looked a little unsettled.

"Yes, well be that as it is, we had a good a time once, and things didn't work out, but I can see life turned out ok for you. What with a husband, and your own business."

"And a little one on the way!" Sarah placed her hand on her stomach.

"And a baby. Well, I guess I'll see you around. I wish you both the best." He smiled and walked out of the dinner.

Chuck watched him for a moment as he stopped outside, pulled out his cell, and looked to be sending a text or email. He placed it back in his pocket and hailed a cab.

Once they were seated, Chuck decided to ask Sarah about the exchange.

"What was that all about?"

Taking a deep breath, "Chuck, I know I said I'd share my past, and that my love, is a mistake of my past."

"How so?"

"When I worked at the Secret Service, I got into a bit of a he said, she said over a supervisor propositioning me. I was still young enough to believe in the system, especially since this was my first cover assignment. I was supposed to use the job as training for protective detail planning scenarios, which came in handy a few years ago when I got assigned this horrible assignment to protect a computer nerd in California."

"Ha, ha. So what happened?"

"I was told to contact legal services and I was put in touch with the dirt bag who just left. He invited me out to a working dinner, and I lowered my guard. Partly from the alcohol and partly from him being so nice. Well one thing turned into another and I expressed my gratitude for him taking my case. Turns out after his victory, he handed the case off. Graham recalled me, where he chewed me out for not coming to him to take care of things. Anyways, I got labeled as someone who gets involved with their partners at work, and… .and it wasn't true. Yet, Bryce found out and used it as a way to…."

"Sarah, I'm sorry. Some men are jerks, but not all of us."

"I know that, baby. I love you for not being an ordinary guy, but an extraordinary one." She smiled a sad smile.

"Come on, let's order some food and get over to the office."

-0-

Outside the dinner, Peace didn't notice the Carmichael's watching him.

**RP – You did not tell me Sarah Carmichael/Bartowski was Sarah Walker**

**So, it doesn't change anything**

Climbing into the cab. "Take me to federal court building."

Back on his phone he typed.

**RP - It changes everything, I messed her over before I knew she was CIA**

**We're about to mess her over more**

**RP – She's pregnant**

-0-

The dark haired woman sat staring out her office window. Her office was dark, it matched her mood most days. She looked back at her phone one more time and smiled, and day dreamed.

"_Their gone. She's gone and our baby. I feel so lost." Chuck cried as she held him close._

_"I know, but I'm back, and I'll take care of you." She kissed him and felt him turn into her. Soon the passion took over as they lay back on the couch. The leather underneath her felt almost as good as the warmth of his touch._

-0-

1100 EST

General Beckman's Office

"Agents Bartowski and Agent Miller, come in and take a seat. I was just turning on the show."

0810 PST

Echo Park

Pulling up to Echo Park Fisher saw the emergency vehicles outside the apartment complex. _I wonder if we got them all? Time to put on my game face._

He ran into the courtyard already speaking, "I was running late, what happened?" What he saw caused him to stop dead in his tracks.

The courtyard was empty and all the buildings were undamaged. He started to run out and turned into the face of multiple armed agents blocking his path.

John Casey walked up and took his side arm as he spoke, "So, what was supposed to happen? Another explosion, except instead of getting the Subway you owe me you were delayed getting Chuck and Sarah some dynamite doughnuts for the 0800 briefing?"

"Look, Casey, I went to get sandwiches, and then I heard about the explosion and I went to ground until this morning's briefing."

"Sure you did. Well you can explain how this place was rigged like Castle and how you knew when to leave and arrive to avoid being killed to the General back in DC." Turning to another agent, "Cuff him, and prepare him for transport."

Fisher reached out and grabbed Morgan's side arm. Immediately four agents unloaded.

"Cease fire! Oh, crap!" Casey knelled by Fisher, "Why?"

While gasping for a breath, "For R..Rober…"

Casey closed eyes and stood up. "The gun was empty."

Morgan just stood there shivering.

-0-

Back in DC Chuck's forehead was on the heel of his hands, and his fingers where buried deep in his hair. He could not believe what he just saw.

Sarah was rubbing Chuck's back while Beckman was getting Casey on the horn. Miller sat in shock, never taking her eyes off Casey.

"Beckman Secure, with Agents Bartowski and Miller." She said as she hit the speaker button.

"General, Fisher committed suicide by execution."

"We know Colonel. We're tapped into the security feed watching in live time, but we've got no audio, what did he say?"

"He did all this for Rober… but he didn't finish the name. My best bet is Robert or possibly Roberts."

Sarah spoke, "General, have we had any hits on Jill Roberts."

"Sarah, we gave up pursuing that low level Fulcrum reject years ago."

Chuck spoke up, "Sarah, surly you don't think she is involved?"

"Are you serious, Chuck? Are you still defending that… that… woman!?"

"No! Its just do you really think she is dumb enough to come back around after escaping?"

"Look you've dreamed about her, and so have I. We both know the Intersect made you dream about Shaw before he reappeared like the cancer he is."

"Chuck, Sarah's got a point." They heard Casey through the speaker.

"Casey, turn the clean up to the highest ranking agent there and get your butt on a plane to pick up Shaw. Beckman out."

She cut all feeds into the office and hit another button to put them in silent mode.

"Agents, I'll get out analyst working on running facial recognitions for Miss Roberts. Now, do you really expect me to believe there is a mole in my office?"

Sarah just remembered something, well noticed really.

"General, why is a US Army Captain answering phones, and not the female Staff Sergeant I spoke to a few weeks ago?"

"SSG Klaus died of natural causes the evening I was captured. That reminds me, I need to make sure I'm clear to attend the post-humus awards ceremony for her tomorrow. We're going to award her the Meritorious Service Medal."

"General, what happened?" Carina asked. No one like to think about some one young dying of natural causes.

"I wasn't here remember, but from the reports, she went to dinner with her boyfriend, and it looks like they spent the night together. Evidently, he left in the morning after a shared cup of coffee and she had a heart attack in the shower."

"Sounds like burning a mark." Sarah commented under her breath, but not quite enough.

"What did you say, Sarah?" The General asked with a very wrinkled brow.

Sarah looked at Beckman, Chuck, and then Carina. Carina nodded her head ever so slightly.

Sarah took a deep breath. _Please, don't ever hate me Chuck. I hate the things I had to do before you._

"I said, it sounds like burning a mark." Sarah avoided looking at Chuck who was staring at her.

"Your right, Sarah." Beckman raised her eyebrows.

"Sarah, what are you talking about? How is this like what we did to Manoosh?" Chuck was having a hard time following despite his years spent in the shadows. He understood bunkering and even killing, but those killings never looked like natural causes.

"Chuck, I know this hard to hear, but remember you've made me a better person. Please, remember that baby."

"Chuck, also remember, I'll avoid giving Sarah these assignments." Beckman interjected.

Sarah looked at her and mouthed, "Thank you."

"Baby, sometimes females spies are ordered on to seduction missions." Chuck nodded so she continued.

"From time to time, we get a high profile guy and we get them to drink something to knock them out to avoid sleeping with them. That's where I was headed with Kirk, until you flashed. Anyways, there are other times when the seduction is the opening to the assassination. In those cases, female spies normally get the guy to drink an untraceable drug that causes cardiac arrest, before they have to go to far. Male spies tend to wait until after before they administer the drug."

"Chuck, this sounds like a classic case of a male burning a female mark." Carina jumped into the conversation. "Although, let's be honest, sometimes the guy looks so good that after is…" She shut up when she saw Sarah glaring at her.

Sarah turned her head and saw Chuck staring at her. "The answer to your question is no. There was a reason I was called the 'Wild Card Enforcer' and 'The Ice Queen.' I always took the knock out or death route. Even if I couldn't get them to drink, I kept sharp edges of my rings and hair pins laced with knock out drugs."

"How well some of Agent Casey's team remembers the night you defended Chuck from the NSA." Beckman recalled with a bit of an edge in her voice. "Those two agents who experienced your hair pins were sick for a week."

"So, General. This little lesson in ending a seduction has been interesting, but we need to find out who she was dating."

"Rumor has it she was dating Ryan Peace, a local family lawyer." Beckman commented.

Chuck and Sarah just stared at one another.


	12. Chuck Draws A Line

**AN: It has been a little crazy getting the students settled. Then we had a five day retreat at a nearby camp. So there has been little time to write. At times I am tempted to post mini chapters, but I always resist. Please forgive the delay, and let me know what you think in the reviews.**

**Chapter 12 - Chuck Draws a Line**

"General, we ran into Ryan Peace this morning before we came into Head Quarters," Chuck informed the Beckman.

"How do you know Peace?" The general asked Chuck.

"I don't, but Sarah had a forgettable experience with him early in her career." Chuck glanced at Sarah, who was staring out the office window refusing to make eye contact.

"Sarah?" The general called her name.

"Yes?" Sarah answered while turning to face their commander.

"What is your assessment of Peace?" The general asked while looking Sarah in the eye.

"He is a low life dirt bag who preys on venerable women." Sarah responded with venom in her voice.

"Wonderful. Your standard DC power player." Carina spoke up.

"Yeah, he's a real winner. When I knew him, he was a lawyer for the government, but he informed us this morning he works in family law. You know divorces and such." Sarah's edge had not lessened. If anything, she spoke with a harder tone.

"Nice. I bet he comforts the hurting wives as well." Carina's voice was dripping sarcasm.

"We need to find a way to get close to him and interrogate him, or at least gather information on him. Especially, if we think he might have something to do with Klaus." General Beckman commented out loud to no one in particular.

"I'm the best bet for that," Sarah said in reply.

"Excuse me?" Chuck exclaimed.

"Sarah, I'm not giving you that type of assignment." Beckman quickly interjected. She didn't want either agent to subject themselves, especially in light of what they were learning about Omaha and the other ways these two were viewed in the intelligence community.

"If anyone is going to make contact ad try to see if there is a connection it would be me." Carina stepped in to protect her best friend and her husband.

"No, it has to be me. We've already made contact and we've got a history." Sarah looked back out the window turning her back on Chuck.

"No! Sarah, we agreed that we were done with those type of assignments after the issues we had when Morgan had the Intersect." Chuck's face showed every once of his frustration, and without turning around she could hear his concern in his voice.

Sarah slowly turned and looked at Chuck. "Come on Chuck, we're spies and this is what we do from time to time. Nothing is going to happen, and we need to explore this lead."

"No! You're my wife, you're carrying my child, and I refuse to allow you to…"

"You refuse!" Her blood was boiling in an instance.

"Yes, I refuse! I don't want this dirtbag thinking there is any room in our marriage for his crummy little hands to divide us." Chuck's face showed more determination than anyone had ever seen before. "We can perform a snatch and grab and see what he knows."

"I'm sorry Chuck, but you and Sarah are CIA…" Beckman started, but Chuck cut her off.

"Operating under the NSA umbrella. Which means we've got domestic authority to proceed against citizens of the United States. Don't try to hide behind mandates that have never applied to this team." Chuck was furious at this point. His voice was just below a bellow.

"Agent Bartowski, you will gain control of yourself and act like a spy. While I don't like this plan, it is the best one on the table. Agent Miller would be seen coming out of left field, and Sarah's connection provides the opening we need."

"I will not be part to this. Sarah, if you want this, you're going to have to do it alone." Chuck looked her in the eye pleading with her.

"Oh, what? You're going to not participate in the mission?" Sarah's eyes were on fire. The last time saw her this way he was hanging on a rope after crashing through the skylight on the Gaez mission.

"You know what? You'll do it your way and it doesn't matter how much help I want to give or advise. You're in full spy mode, and I've always come in second to a full blown Agent Walker moment. If this is what you want good luck, Agent Walker. When you meet with Peace, make sure he understands your request is for real. I'm done."

Chuck turned on his heel and stormed from the office. The secretary jumped when he slammed the door.

"Agent Bartowski, is everything alright?" The new secretary asked.

"No! Here take these." He handed her his credentials, badge, and firearm. "It's Mr. Bartowski from this point forward. Good luck!" He then exited the office and left headquarters. He hailed and climbed in one of the posts cabs parked out front.

"Where to sir?" The driver asked.

"The Jefferson." Chuck took off his watch, rolled down the window and tossed it out. A few minutes later he tossed his phone out. As soon as he could get some items from his suitcase he would be off the grid and gone.

He entered the hotel room and immediately opened his suitcase. He tore through the clothes, he didn't care if it looked like the case was tossed in a robbery. He only wanted to get to the run credentials he created for himself when he thought Sarah might actually leave with Shaw.

He stopped for a moment. What am I doing? He stood still as reason flooded back into his brain. At that moment, he made a decision. He grabbed his new identification and walked out.

Chuck looked both ways, not for traffic, but for people, before crossing the street and entering the small electronic storefront down from the hotel. He purchased a burn phone and then walked until he found what he was looking for, a beauty shop. A quick haircut and some hair dye and Chuck Bartowski would disappear and Brad Andrews would walk out with a mission.

Back in Beckman's Office

Carina and Beckman stood in shock while Sarah was furious. She had seen him walk away to cool off before, and she was not worried. However, Beckman had no intention of letting this stand.

"Agent Bartowski, Sarah, where is your husband going?"

"To pout most likely or as he puts to 'cool off.'" She stated as a matter of fact as she could while attempting to reign in her emotions.

Beckman picked up the phone and buzzed her secretary. "Sergeant, send Agent Bartowski back in my office. What do you mean he is not there?" She hung up the phone and walked to her door. "Follow me, agents."

They stepped into the outer office. "Please, inform these agents what you just told me."

"Yes, ma'am. Agent Bartowski, Chuck, walked out and handed me his credentials…" she said while passing them to Beckman, "and told me he was no longer Agent Bartowski, but Mr. Bartowski."

Sarah began to show signs of breaking down. I will not cry in front of these people.

"Agents track him down. Now!"

Both Sarah and Carina turned on their heels and quickly exited the building.

When they arrived at Chuck and Sarah's room in the Jefferson, they saw Chuck's suitcase tossed.

Sarah looked around and noticed that all of their 'escape' credentials were still there. She opened her phone app that allowed her and Chuck to track one another. She immediately noticed his tracking signals were gone. This could only mean that his watch and phone were destroyed at some point. Despite Carina's presence she cried.

Carina tried to console Sarah. She held her while she sobbed into her friends shoulder. This is why spies don't fall in love. Carina reminded herself.

When Sarah fell asleep, Carina called Beckman.

"Beckman, secure."

"This is Miller. Sarah is asleep and emotionally compromised. Chuck is in the wind without a tracker or any other means to be followed."

"Understood. I will get a team of analyst to begin searching traffic cams, and monitoring all transportations locations from the time of his departure from my office. Now, I need you to get Sarah up and take her downstairs to the Plume. Peace has a scheduled meet with one of our agents there this evening."

"General, Sarah is in no condition…"

"Carina, listen. You need to trust me on this one. If one of my staff is still leaking information to Peace, he will know about Chuck taking off and he will approach Sarah. Once, you see him enter, excuse yourself to the ladies room and leave Sarah alone. He should tip his hand that he is aware of Chuck and her. If not, our other agent will push him for potential information concerning Klaus. Either way Sarah needs to eat."

"Fine. I don't like this, but it's what we spies do for the greater good." Carina didn't hold back her sarcasm.

"I hate it when you say it like that."

"I love you too. Do we have any word on Casey's special delivery?"

"Yes, he has taken custody of the package and will arrive at our designated location tonight and hopefully, if we find Chuck, you three can come there tomorrow to begin interrogations. Take care, dear. Beckman out."

"Sarah, I hate to wake you, but we need to talk. Come on sit up and let's talk."

Approximately 8 pm at the Plume

Carina and Sarah sat in the middle of the restaurant near the wine table. Sarah had her back to the entrance while Carina had her back to one of the massive white columns that divided the dining area into different sections. Anyone entering the restaurant was sure to notice two things. The large fireplace and the beautiful ladies seated near the wine table.

The blonde gentleman seated near the fireplace saw the women enter and watched as Carina took a seat with her back to the column while the Sarah sat across from her. He sat for a moment admiring her beauty. Like most male agents who had the fortune of meeting either lady, he could not deny how beautiful they both were, but Sarah took his breath away.

He saw Peace enter the dining area. He took a table one row up from Carina and Sarah on the same side as the blonde agent. He watched as Carina got up and left, and almost immediately Sarah got up and moved around the table out of his sight.

Sarah sat down and quickly scanned the dining room. Her eyes fell on Peace, and her heart sank. She tried to keep the tears from her eyes, but she couldn't stop thinking about Chuck. She wanted to shake her head as Peace got up and crossed to her table.

"Sarah, you look upset? Trouble in paradise?" Peace asked as he took the seat next to her against the central aisle.

"No. What do you want?" She couldn't believe it. It was like a nightmare. Chuck left her over a possible seduction plan, and here she was with no intention or mandate to perform a seduction. She was just expected to be in public with her heartbreak on public display.

"I wanted to see if you're alright." Peace smiled at her. Here is my chance to claim her once more as mine. I know what she wants, but I want another opportunity with Sarah Walker.

"Well, I'm all right. A minor disagreement with my husband, but we're fine." Sarah made no pretense about being annoyed by Peace.

"Come on Sarah, people talk. I know you guys had a bad fight, and he's not here at the hotel with you. I mean after all, the red head is who you're having dinner with, not him. That sounds like serious trouble in paradise. I should know, I make a living handling these types of minor disagreements."

The directional microphone was working wonders, and the blonde agent heard the details of the conversation between Sarah and Peace. As soon as he heard Peace talk about Chuck walking out on Sarah. He slowly arose from his table and approached them. Sweeping past the table he stumbled a little, bumped into Peace and kept going while tossing an apology over his shoulder.

While Sarah didn't care for Peace, she did wonder how some people could be so rude. Peace watched the guy who just bumped into him limp away. He seemed to have a hitch in his gait that looked like a limitation from a chronic injury. He's not worth it. Now back…

"Sarah, please excuse me. I don't feel well." Peace quickly left the table. What no one noticed, even Sarah, was that when the agent bumped into Peace he injected him with a serum that made you want to empty your stomach immediately.

When Peace rounded the corner, he saw Sarah's dinner partner and the blonde guy waiting near the entrance to the restroom. He looked into the guys face and that his when he recognized him. It was too late, he knew he had made a mistake, but his world was fading into darkness.

"How long will the tranq last?" Carina looked the other agent in the eye.

"Longer than our first encounter in your hotel room." The agent smiled. His statement and the smile annoyed Carina.

"Hmmph. It wasn't because I didn't want you. I still can't believe you rejected me." Her record was near perfect, but it wasn't perfect. "Do you want me to get Sarah are do you want to get her?"

"You go get her. Have her bring all the stuff from the room and I'll meet you guys in one hour on the plane." With that, he turned and left.

"Good call." She mumbled as she went back to the dining area.

Approximately one hour later

Sarah and Carina were boarding the government plane bound for an undisclosed location near Fort Bragg, NC, and Pope Army Air Field. It had been almost a year since the change over from the Air Force, but the field still provided the primary transportation for the military in the area. Therefore, it was the best location for the team to fly in.

Sarah was dragging as she boarded the plane. She didn't want to leave DC. She had no clue where Chuck was and it was killing her. She was tempted to walk away and find him, but she had no idea where to look. She thought about calling Ellie, but she knew he would not contact her if he were trying to go off the grid.

As she entered the cabin of the plane, she saw a blonde male agent sitting in a seat looking toward the entrance. She looked in his face, and walked straight up to him and slapped him. Then she crawled on his lap and began kissing his face all over as she cried. Then, climbed off and slugged him in his shoulder.

"I hate you." Sarah sobbed as she looked at a blonde-haired version of her Chuck.

"I love you too. Please forgive me." Chuck begged as he wrapped his arms around her waist and laid his head on her stomach.

Carina moved past the couple and took a seat a few seats away.

"Why? Why did you make me think you were leaving us? Why did you go off grid? Why would you do that to me, Chuck?" Sarah was rubbing her hand across his close-cut hair. "I hate your hair." That was not a statement of frustration and anger being released it was a simple fact.

"I can explain."

"You resigned, Chuck. Beckman has agents looking for you, looking for the Intersect, and she probably wants to bunker you for a lifetime. How we going to raise our family now? What were you thinking?" Sarah was genuinely concerned.

"I can explain. You've got nothing to worry about." Chuck gave her a reassuring smile.

"What did you do?" Sarah narrowed her eyes and lowered her voice.

"When I was listening to you and Beckman talk about Peace I knew I couldn't stop you through logic or any other argument from running a volunteer seduction on the guy. Sarah, it pissed me off, I won't lie, but I also knew I couldn't allow it to happen. Most of my words and anger were real. Most of them, but I was never angry enough to truly leave you. However, I had an idea and I ran with it, knowing that if my idea panned out, there would be no need for a seduction, and you wouldn't be in shape for it anyway. Unless, you are still more agent than a wife, and I guess I needed to know that as well."

"So you did what? Decided to crush me? All of this was a test of my love?" Sarah looked simultaneously hurt and incredulous.

"Sarah, I needed you to believe I left, it was the only way to stop you from following through your decision. So I had to convince everyone that I was running. Then after I cleared out the required items from my suitcase in our room, I went and purchased a burner phone using one of my identities and then called Peace and established a meet at the Plume. I then called Beckman and told her my plan. She agreed and ordered Carina to take you out."

"Wait. Carina knew? She said that we knew Peace would be there and that Beckman felt that a seduction was still a good plan. However, by having us both there, we might be able to allow her the dirty work."

"Right. That was my idea to get you to go out. Carina knew I would be there. Everything went accordingly and we got the information that Peace knew about our fight. That is when I passed your table and injected him with what I call the sickness syrup. He left to find a restroom but instead found Carina and me waiting for him. He's tied up sleeping in the back."

"You're the rude guy!"

"Yeah, that is why my hair is different, and I had a spray on tan applied. I couldn't chance you recognizing me immediately. I was banking on you being distracted by me to prevent you recognizing me."

"You knew about this?" Sarah looked at her friend who merely shrugged while nodding her head and then motioning that it was his fault.

Sarah fixed her eyes on her husband. "Well I'm glad I didn't have to play up to that dirtbag and I love you for protecting me, but you're still in the doghouse buddy."

She then sat down across from him. She kicked off her shoes, put her feet in his lap, and motioned to her feet. "Get busy! You're not done until I no longer feel like killing you while trying to hold on to your for life."

"Yes, dear." Chuck smiled at her.

"Nope. Don't try it. Oh and another thing, I may be able to handle my husband having a crew cut, but I am not attracted to blondes at all. Therefore, if my husband wants his wife to act as his wife he will not remain a blonde."

Chuck started to get up. "Excuse me, where do you think you're going?" Sarah stopped him.

"To dye my hair back. I got a box kit in the back." Chuck pointed with his thumb over his shoulder.

"I'm not over wanting to kill you," Sarah said while wiggling her toes.

Chuck knew it was time to pull out the big guns. He gave her the puppy dog eyes."

With a loud sigh, Sarah said, "Fine, hurry back. Then you can massage me to sleep." Chuck smiled real big. "My feet you can rub my feet until I go to sleep."

Carina snickered when he walked by her. "Sarah, you know that was incredible spy work he used to protect both of us from being used as a flesh tool in the company's arsenal."

"I know, but that is not why I am mad at him."

"Why then?"

"I never knew about Brad Andrews. I think Chuck has had him as a bailout for some time. I wish I knew why he never discarded the cover once we were together?"

"Sarah, have you discarded all of your old ones?" Carina asked innocently. She actually felt like Chuck was getting the raw end of this argument and makeup session.

"No. I just never thought about it."

"Then maybe you should give him the same benefit. Besides, if you look into the back-story, it stinks of Walkerisms. He did what you taught him. That should make you proud. He used your teachings against you and won."

They heard him approaching so the conversation ended quickly.

"Ok, I got ten minutes and then I have to go back. Sarah, can I ask you a question without you getting angrier?"

"Sure." She was still thinking about what Carina had said to her.

"Can we add another phrase to our deal. No lies, no secrets, no going on missions without each other, and no more seductions?"

"Sure baby. As long as I can add one."

"What else would you add?" Chuck asked tilting his head.

"No more scaring your wife that she will have to raise your child by herself."

"I think I can live with that one as well." Chuck smiled.

Sarah noticed Carina give her a small nod over her shoulder. It looked like Carina was proud of her. _Now, maybe we can get back on track. Peace and Shaw, no there is two men who deserve what is about to happen to them._


	13. Mind Games

**AN: Early in season one Sarah praised Chuck for his creation of Charles Carmichael because it was simple and close to his real name. It made it easier. While, she was highly skilled by the time Graham gave her the name Sarah Walker, I still chose to use this little snippet to create a last name for Sarah. I've read many versions, so I decided to create my own. It is bad enough I don't own Chuck and must say it all the time, I also don't want to step on anyone's toes here as well. If you know a story that uses the name I chose, let me know, I want to read it. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy, and I hope my schedule slows down some. I really want to update faster. Ronnie1958 and Neale how do you do it?**

Chapter 13 –Mind Games

While Chuck and Sarah were dealing with Peace

The cold cinderblock hallway was that peculiar shade of off-white that seemed to be a favorite of the government. On the highly shined tile floors, there were footprints painted and covered with layers of wax. The prisoners knew where to place their feet as they walked with the guards through halls that led from the detention block to the visitor area, rooms for private lawyer meetings, and the conjugal visit rooms. He knew no lawyer could ever get him out of this place. He knew no one was coming to visit unless they were highly vetted agents, but he was thankful to be out of his isolation cell.

"Stop." He came to a complete standstill as the order was given. He turned and looked at the door to one of the private legal rooms. The guard opened the door and he stepped through. Well, well, look who's here to see me. This should be fun.

"Agents, the prisoner is yours. Do you want us to remove his restraints?" The guard asked. His hand was on the baton and his legs were set slightly greater than shoulder width apart. This created a stable foundation in case the prisoner decided to try something like the other week when he snapped a guard's wrist. It seemed every time he was let out of isolation he did something to return.

"Negative, he looks good with all that jewelry. I especially love his bracelets and anklets." John Casey looked at Daniel Shaw and smiled.

"Hello, Casey. Where's the happy couple?" Shaw pulled out a chair and took a seat. He looked around and sized up Morgan, who was standing just behind and to the left side of Casey. The little one is picking up spy craft. He's positioned to allow Casey to draw and angle for a shot while clearing a lane for him. Interesting.

"Classified." Casey gave him one simple word. A word that told Shaw that he wasn't going to find out squat.

"Well, what brings you to my home? Need some tips on how to open up to women? You know Alex, I bet Katherine just cried and cried while carrying that lovely daughter of yours, while you were turning into a robot at the farm."

Shaw no longer had the Intersect thanks to the Omen Virus, but he still retained the knowledge he flashed on and all that he learned and dug up on Team Bartowski.

"Her name is Kathleen." Casey snapped out as he punched Shaw in the face.

"That will teach you to shut your mouth." Morgan did his best to snarl at Shaw.

Shaw spat blood on the floor and then turned to Morgan with a smile on his face. "Grimes, how is King Charles' favorite court jester? Tell me, what is it like living in your best friend's shadow your entire life." Shaw just laughed at Morgan. "Does Sarah ever let him come out and play or do you just take the beating from girls now?"

Morgan's face grew red and he let out the manliest growl Casey had ever heard from him. In one swift motion, Morgan reached into his suit jacket pocket and pulled out a throwing dart. He let it loose and it stuck Shaw right in the chest. Shaw almost immediately slumped in his chair and was unconscious.

"Twilight dart. We need to transport him, not listen to him." Morgan looked at Casey and turned toward the door. He opened the door and told the guard to bring in the infirmary doctor to set up the sedative drip they would use to keep Shaw calm during his flight.

Casey shook his head smiled. Most days he wanted to kill Morgan, but then there were times like these when he would be glad to call the little guy his son-in-law.

As the doctor stepped in, he looked at the two agents and a sleeping Shaw. "What happened?"

"Craziest thing, he was talking and talking and then he was sleeping," Morgan smirked at the doctor.

"Well, I guess this makes my job a bit easier." He placed the IV in his arm and started the drip.

"Will he wake up during the flight?" Casey wanted to have a quite ride, but then again, maybe he could let Shaw wake so Morgan could chant next to him about keeping the plane in the air. Why not let the little guy practice his own unique brand of torture.

"Yes, he should be out the entire flight." The good doctor walked out as the guards came in with a wheelchair to roll Shaw out to the armored van.

**About an hour later**

"Beckman. Secure."

"Casey. Secure and in the air. The package is out and we are on our way. ETA: 5 Hours."

"Understood Colonel. Deviate flight plan to Langley. I've determined that a remote site will not offer proper security. I'm ordering your team to return as well."

"Roger. May I ask why?"

"Absolutely. Chuck and I discussed the potential leak in my office and made the maneuver to see if we caught any chatter about high profile targets being moved to the Fort Bragg area."

"From our deviation while in flight, I take it chatter was picked up."

"Yes, Colonel we picked up code words we applied to moving both Shaw and Peace. Unfortunately from this point forward my office must be considered compromised. Until the leak is found, we can only trust ourselves, and a select list of operatives currently in the field. Before following any directives originating from my office verify those with me."

"Roger. I will notify the flight crew."

Casey did not realize that in the secure area there was another passenger, besides Shaw. Benetti had stowed away in LA and was still hiding out aboard the aircraft. He needed information and he had heard about Shaw while in confinement. When he heard Casey and Morgan talking about keeping Shaw out until they arrived, he decided he need to slow the sedative drip to keep Shaw on the edge of consciousness, but still lethargic enough to not be able to move. He didn't want him to escape. He just wanted him to talk.

Shaw slowly emerged from his slumber and squinted his eyes against the light in the cabin. He blinked slowly trying to get his eyes to focus.

"Good day, Mr. Shaw" Benetti greeted Shaw.

"Who…Who're you?" Shaw's voice was weak and dragging.

"I'm just a man who needs information. I might be a friend or I might not. That depends on you and what you know." He was keeping his voice low.

"I know a lot of things. I know enough to know if you're whispering you're not a member of Team Bartowski. So what's your game?" Shaw was struggling to hold his head up.

"I don't care about Team Bartowski, I care about putting an end to Project Omaha."

He was doing his best to hold his head up and his speech came haltingly as he said, "Omaha? That project became the Intersect project and if you're interested in that, then you need to care about Team Bartowski, or should I say Team Intersect."

"Team Bartowski has an intersect? Let me guess Bartowski."

"They did. Chuck, but he lost it. I made sure of that. That left only me."

"You're an Intersect host?" Benetti growled out.

"No. They took it from me. Chuck, his witch, and their team." Shaw looked like he could barely keep his eyes open.

"There is no Intersect now?" Benetti's eyebrows nearly touched as he looked at Shaw with extreme consternation.

"Maybe. DARPA was building a new one when I was arrested for trying to avenge my wife." Shaw knew this was not the complete truth, but he wanted to win this potential ally over to his side.

"What happened to your wife?" The anger flashed across his face, but Shaw missed it as his eyes slipped shut. Benetti gave him a small slap, "Hey! What happened?"

"The CIA ordered her killed. Supposed double agent. Bartowski's wife killed her during her red test." Shaw gnashed his teeth throughout his statements.

"Was she?"

"No, she was deep cover. She wanted to infiltrate the Ring." Shaw shook his head no as he spoke.

"Bartowski's wife is an agent?" Benetti had his agent mask securely in place now.

"Yes, Sarah Walker. She is also known as Jenny Burton, Rebecca Franco, Katie O'Connell but before she any of those she was little Samantha Lisa Wil…." Shaw faded out.

Benetti slapped him hard. "Describe them."

"Huh, Chuck is 6'3," skinny and geeky. Sarah is 5'9", blue eyes, blonde hair, and gorgeous, and not too bad a lover."

"You and her? Before or after her marriage and your marriage?"

"After mine, I didn't know then. I came between them; they had issues that I exploited. I was using her to get the Intersect to help me avenge my wife. Then, they worked out their problems, and I found out she killed my Eve."

"What else do you know about her?" Benetti's brain was working overtime.

"Dad is a con-man who goes by the name Jack Burton. Mom is off the grid."

"Do you know her mom's name?"

"Emma. She has an adopted sister, named Molly."

"Whose your escort?"

"NSA killer, John Casey and Chuck's loser friend, Morgan Grimes."

"If you got loose, what would you do to Team Bartowski?" Benetti was holding his head up and looking Shaw in the eye.

"Kill 'em all." He smiled at Benetti.

"Thanks, that's all I need to know." He reached up and opened the sedative back up.

Shaw slipped into sleep. Benetti hid once again and waited. He had a lot on his mind.

_Emma, Jack, and Samantha. It has to be them. My little golden haired girl, well Emma's kid is a CIA spy and married to a former Intersect. I guess the CIA got her even after we tried to keep them safe. Maybe that is a promise I can still keep. I'll follow them and when the time is right, I'll try to make contact. Maybe she'll remember her "Uncle Jeff" and I can find out what is going on with… I guess it's Project Intersect now. Hmm… Sarah Bartowski. Bartowski? No, it can't be… they promised after… Stephen and Mary promised to close down operations. Is Chuck kin to them?_

He slipped back into the holding area. He went through the process of waking Shaw.

"A minute ago, you said this team is called Team Bartowski, is Chuck, that's his name right?" Shaw nodded slightly. "Is Chuck the son of Stephen Bartowski, code name Orion?" Shaw nodded again, and Benetti put him back to sleep.

_Ok, I got to find out what happened before I decide my next step. I wonder what happened to Diane? Her and Mary were close._

Just as he slid back into his hiding place, he heard Casey enter the holding area. He looked around and then grunted as he turned and left. Benetti watched and measured him. He looks formidable. Looks like the little one is my ticket if things go sideways.

-o-

Chuck and Sarah landed two hours after take off. They had flown a big circle and were right back where they started. They immediately called into Beckman.

"Beckman secure."

"General, we have landed at our destination and are ready to transfer the prisoner to the interrogation site." Chuck was looking at Sarah and Carina as they listened in to phone taps the installed. Sarah was using a hack that Chuck created to compromise the secure scramblers the agencies of the DNI used on their iPhones to watch for outgoing calls from the General's office. Carina was on the line with their decoy team at Fort Bragg.

"Roger. Proceed to the site. Good Luck Team. Beckman out." Chuck heard the click and pointed to Carina.

"This is Agent Miller, we're a go. I say again, the operation is a go. Be careful guys." She hung up and looked over to Sarah.

"Got it. We had a call go out them moment Beckman disconnected. The number is (202) 628-1234."

Chuck shot the number via text to the General's phone. Chuck's phone beeped quickly.

Beckman: Come on in team. I've got someone I want you to talk to for me.

-o-

"Charlie 1 this is Charlie 6."

"Roger, Charlie 6."

"Charlie 1, look alive we're exiting Chicken Road gate and have a long dark stretch of road."

"Roger."

"Expect contact around Mott Lake. The water on both sides creates a natural choke point."

"Roger that."

Minutes later as they passed by the last residential street leading back toward Raeford and Fayetteville, the convoy was struck from the right by sniper fire from the wood line. They came to an immediate stop and funneled the attackers toward the prisoner escort vehicle.

Two men rushed the transport and opened the back doors to find members of the 3rd Special Forces group waiting for them. Once revealed the men performed reflexive fire as they exited the vehicle and moved against the attackers. The lead and trail vehicles came back to life and moved off the hardball and onto the vehicle trails leading into the training area off Plank Road.

The pursuit ended when an MK19 round struck the getaway car blowing out its front end. The men moved into a secure perimeter and took down members hired by the Syndicate to eliminate Peace before he could talk. All in all three former operators were captured and 5 others died attempting to carry out their twisted view of patriotism. Charlie 6 was pleased with his men.

"Beckman secure."

"Colonel Theil. We caught some traitors for you."

"Any casualties?"

"Not on our side. Some bumps and bruises maybe, but no significant injuries."

"Good. That's what I like to hear. Move them you training playground and begin extracting information."

"Roger."

"Beckman out."

"Ok guys, let's load 'em up and roll out." His men all loaded back up and took a better route to camp.

-o-

Chuck and Sarah walked into the office holding hands. As Chuck started to head to the general's door, Sarah pulled out of his hand. He stopped and looked at her. She motioned with her head to the bathroom doors and he smiled.

"I'll wait on you." She smiled and headed for the ladies room.

"Agent Carmichael?" Chuck turned to see a female sergeant standing in front of him.

"Charles Carmichael." He offered with a smile.

"This envelope was delivered to you, with instructions to give to you alone. We scanned it and tested it for chemical compounds. It's clean."

"Thank you."

Chuck sat down and opened the large cardboard envelope. Inside he found a typed letter, some photos, and copies from a personnel file.

He looked at the file page and saw that it was Bryce Larkin's demographic page that listed all his pertinent information to include next of kin: Sarah Larkin. Next he saw the wedding photos and pictures of Bryce on life support. His hands were shaking by the time he unfolded the letter.

_Agent Carmichael, _

_Perhaps you will trust me better if we establish something up front. You're Charles Irving Bartowski, Stanford graduate, from Burbank. I am, have been, and always will be a friend. How well do you know your "wife"? As you can see, she is already married to her former partner Bryce. In fairness, she probably doesn't know the Ring kept him alive on life support. I know, you thought he died in the Intersect room, but then again you thought Shaw died too. She probably "married" you thinking she was a widow and would never have to tell you the truth. Go ahead, confront her and have her take you to their apartment. I'll be in touch. When I think you're ready, I'll give you information so we can meet one another. Watch your back. Remember many Botham spies died to bring you this information."_

The letter was unsigned and Chuck was completely shaking by the time Sarah reentered the waiting area. She saw the envelope and papers on the floor at Chuck's feet and a letter in his hand, which he held against his head. When he saw her feet, he looked up. Sarah had never seen his eyes with more hurt or betrayal, not even when she left him in the courtyard.

Sarah looked down at the photos and immediately knew what they were. "Chuck, baby we need to get in the General's office." She grabbed him when he didn't move or respond to her. She led him like a zombie from the waiting area to the office. He plopped down into a seat with the letter still in his hand. She quickly went out and gathered all the other documents.

"Chuck, honey, talk to me." Chuck wouldn't make eye contact. Sarah started crying. "Chuck, talk to me!"

"You… You and Bryce were…", he started shaking his head as he returned his eyes to the floor. "How could you lie all these years? How could you…", he couldn't finish, he just pointed at her belly.

"Chuck, I was never married." The sound of glass hitting a desk made both them remember that they barged into Beckman's private office.

"We're going silent now." She pressed a few buttons and the office went off the grid and a white noise generator jammed all signals.

"Ok agents, what is this about?"

"This," Sarah slammed the pictures on the desk and the page from Bryce's file.

"Chuck," The general called his name, and he looked at her. "Operation Andean Investigation DNI 2008-215."

Immediately both Sarah and Chuck flashed:

Bryce and Sarah's wedding photo

Cover legend – Tom and Eva Anderson

DC Cover Apartment for the Andersons

Larkin denied legal status for marriage-Paperwork listed as Tom Anderson and Eva Brown - 2008

Walker undercover- not notified

Bryce and Sarah's wedding photo

Just as they were coming out of the flash, the General hit them with another one. "Operation Cooper Recovery"

Photo of Bryce on life support

Exhumation order

DNA results – confirmed Larkin

Strike Team report – confirmed man on support no DNA match for Larkin

Photo of Bryce on life support

Beckman still looked worried. So she opened her mouth again, "DNI File 2011-398."

Service Photo of Sarah Walker

Legal name change from Samantha Lisa Williams to Sarah Lisa Walker – 12 May 2010

Certified Marriage Certificate – 16 May 2011 – Filed by BG Beckman, Diane – 18 May 2011

Agent Status – Former/Potential Recruit

Service Photo of Sarah Bartowski

As soon as the flash ended Chuck rushed Sarah. "Sarah, I'm sorry I doubted you." He wrapped his arms around her and held on as if his life depended on it.

She lowered her head to his shoulder, "Only you, Chuck, only you. I've never loved anyone else, only you." She ran her fingers through his hair.

"Hmmm," Beckman cleared her throat. "Well, I'm glad we could settle this matter quickly. Now on to the next important topic concerning this package, where did this come from?"

Chuck pulled back from Sarah and with a look of cold determination he looked the general in the eye. "I don't know, but when I find out, they're going to wish they'd never been freaking born."

"Chuck…", Sarah started to try and calm him.

"No Sarah. Before this, I was worried, annoyed, and mostly bothered. Now I'm flat out pissed and I'll not stop until I take down each and every last one of them. I'll see them all rot in a deep dark prison."

"Honey, don't lose yourself." When he got like this her fears of a few years ago returned. Would she lose her Chuck to the spy world? That was her third biggest concern. Her first ones were losing him to death and him deciding he didn't love her.

"I'll never stop being your Chuck, but the bad guys can't get away."

"Are you two always like this? Now I know why Colonel Casey is always so grumpy. Get out of my office and go get me some answers from Peace, Shaw, and that former secretary of mine. It's time to take the fight to them, and I mean take it to them hard."

-o-

As the door slid shut behind Casey, Morgan, and their prisoner, Daniel Shaw, a shadow slipped into the facility. Now all Benetti needed to do was find an observation point without being discovered.


	14. Unrequited

**AN: When the muse grabbed, she grabbed for two chapters worth of content. Hope this quicker update makes up for some of the slower ones. This chapter is designed to fill backstory, solidify the couple, begin to give insight into a let plot element, and just provide a little fun at the expense of a couple of characters I didn't like. I don't own Chuck.**

**Chapter 14 - Unrequited**

Chuck pulled from Sarah and turned to their commanding officer. He still looked shaken and the general could still see measures of doubt in his eyes. "General, before we go to join Carina, I need to make a few requests."

Sarah had a look of confusion on her face. After the flashes, she was sure that Chuck understood, as she did, the falsified nature of the letter and its contents. She couldn't imagine what he was going to ask for from the general.

"Sarah, I want to see your complete file. If you don't want me to review your file, then I completely understand. I have never used the Intersect to flash mine your information within the database, nor have I conducted data research with a link to our main data servers. I want your permission to pull out everything on you."

Sarah was completely at a loss. She had been opening up for years now. She had not told him all of her missions, or all she had done. She gave him the ones she knew he would need to work through, and the ones she once feared would make him leave her. Yet, it was still frightening for her to be completely brought into the light so to speak. She knew it was the only way the could be unified mentally, as they were emotionally and physically.

With a dry swallow of her throat, "Ok. If you must, I would've hoped by now you trusted me above these suspicions. But if you need to see it for yourself, I won't stop you."

Chuck looked into her eyes and saw hurt there. Actually, he saw pain and fear. "This isn't about trust, but confidence and knowledge. Someone pushed one of my weaker buttons: jealousy. If I know what is there, then I know for myself. Do you remember what you said to me…," Chuck stopped mid sentence and looked at the general and then at Sarah. "General Beckman is a busy lady and I'm sure she is ready for us to get back on the mission." His look told her he didn't want to disclose all or a portion of what he was about to bring up. She nodded and the general witnessed what others had talked about and Casey reported as far back as the 49B. Even that traitorous leach, Shaw, reported how Chuck and Sarah had their own "looks language," but it didn't stop him from doing his best to destroy their relationship for his own vile desires.

"General, I also want to see Bryce's file."

Both Sarah and Beckman were watching Chuck carefully, and they saw the momentary "aha" sweep across his features before he went back as close to an agent's mask as Chuck could put on. Both ladies knew Chuck was now in his real strength zone. He was fitting pieces of a puzzle together and taking information from the Intersect, his experiences, and remembered information to create solutions a team of dedicated analyst struggled to create. Chuck turned to Sarah.

"Do you know where his safe house is located?"

The questioned floored Sarah. "Wha…, What?"

"Do you know where Bryce's safe house is located?"

"I have an idea. I followed him once, but I'm not sure it was his safe house or some sluts place."

"Why do you not know?" Beckman was curious now. So she nodded when Chuck asked the question and looked at him. _Good question, Chuck_.

Sarah opened her mouth and then closed it. He brows knit together and mumbled something that sounded like no secrets.

"I broke in, but it was equally filled with women's clothing."

"Your size right?"

"Yes?"

"We must go there. I have a feeling; I need to play out this hunch. General, about those files?"

"Just a second." Beckman placed a thumb drive in her USB port and began typing on her keyboard. "There, both personnel records are on the dive. Chuck, do be careful with these."

"I will. Will you…"

Beckman interrupted, "I'll have your team prep the interviewees and wait. Now if this helps us win this fight, get out."

Chuck grabbed Sarah by the hand and led her out. As soon as the settled into their Mustang, he turned to her and placed his hand on her thigh.

"Do you remember what you said the night in our home? The night I held you captive when you didn't have your memories?"

"I lied, all you were was a mission. Chuck, baby I'm…" Sarah started as she reached across the car and placed her hand on his cheek. Chuck quickly interrupted what he was sure was going to be another apology.

"Stop, I know and you don't need to go there. You basically said spies lie."

"That is exactly what I said. Spies do lie Chuck." She looked forward with a nervous look on her face; she didn't like the memories flooding her mind. It was the same look she had on the night he thought he passed his final exam. For a moment, he saw her with the binoculars to her face refusing to look at him as he apologized for Prague.

"You're definitely right about spies lying. Especially about the thing that took you by surprise and the thing you were fighting that night and the weeks that followed." He kept watching her carefully. He needed her to figure this out on her own. If he was right, she needed to believe it because she figured it out. That was the one thing he always knew about her. She had to work things out on her own.

"And what exactly was I fighting?" Her voice carried a bit of an edge.

"Your feelings for me. Deep within you knew you had them. It's why you were confused about your directives from Quinn. It's why you didn't shoot me in the Intersect room, or why you struggled as I told you about us. It's why you came up with that lame excuse about doing your job too well. It's why you tried to make sure I was all right instead of bolting like your training told you after I took your bullet." As Chuck spoke, the more he talked, the more impassioned he sounded.

"Spies don't fall in love." Sarah looked out the front window as she turned into a residential area.

"The biggest lie the DNI tries to sell. Spies fall in love." _And if I'm right, you'll discover just how much._ Chuck turned his attention forward.

"Chuck?"

"Yeah."

"I lied... I lied that night in the courtyard. I did feel something, but my anger and fear were stronger than the inkling of love I felt."

"I know. I saw it." Chuck looked out the side window. He wasn't looking at the houses as they passed by; he was looking at her reflection in the window.

"I love you. With all my heart and even if I didn't get my memories back, I would've discovered that. I was discovering that each night we talked." She was looking at the back of his head as he continued to look out the window. That is when she noticed that he watching her reflection. She smiled his smile and waited for him to turn towards her.

Chuck rotated back forward, pulled out his laptop and began reading her file as she drove to the safe house. Chuck was scrolling through the file with one hand and had his other resting on Sarah's leg. When he got to the section he was looking for, he slowed down and started to remove his hand from Sarah. That's when he heard a sigh of dissatisfaction and felt her grab his hand and forcibly place it back on her leg.

"Did I say you could stop?" She softly laughed.

"Wow, is somebody getting addicted to my touch?" Chuck smiled back as he studied Bryce's file. The smile from the banter helped him disguise his anger over what he was reading. Bryce's reports were filled with annotations about Sarah's distance and her unwillingness to "work together" outside of work to foster the "team connection." He recommended the "back story marriage" and the purchase of the Anderson apartment. It appears that Langston Graham signed off on the apartment and the ceremony. Chuck thought back to his undercover assignment with Sarah in the suburbs.

"Sarah, when we went undercover as the Carmichaels…"

"We are the Carmichaels, dear." She smiled to let him know she was giving him a hard time.

"Yes, we are. However, what I was referring to is when I was still your asset we went undercover as a married couple. Why did we not have a wedding where pictures were taken? Why were our photos made with PhotoShop?"

"I don't know. I never thought about it. Why would we need to have a ceremony and pictures made?" Sarah looked at him after she pulled the car over and parked in front of a house with a for sale sign by owner in the front yard.

"Exactly. Why would we need to do that? So why did you with Bryce?" He was holding her hand to stop her from exiting the vehicle.

"Graham ordered it," She said shrugging her shoulders.

"So, before we go in let me ask you another question or two. Did either of them push you to use your alias Sarah Walker on any of the "false paperwork?"

"Both actually, but Chuck, it would not have been legal. Bryce was using the name Tom Anderson on the paperwork." She looked confused about what he was trying to say to her.

"Last question and we can go inside. Did you come here before or after the fake wedding?"

"Before. Chuck, what are you getting at?" Sarah looked frustrated by now.

Chuck closed the laptop, opened his door, got out, closed the door, and walked around. He opened her door and offered his hand. "Let's go inside, look around, and then I'll show you what I found."

They entered the house and immediately Sarah's mouth dropped open. As soon as the entered the living room there was an enormous picture of Bryce and her at the altar. Everywhere she looked there were photos of them together. She went upstairs and found the wedding dress she had to wear. What bothered them the most in the closet was the red dress from the Von Hayes mission. Its presence alone meant that Bryce had raided Sarah's trash since she threw the dress away after the mission. In her mind, there was no sense in keeping anything Chuck hated. The basement held pictures from their missions together.

When they took their seats at the dinner table Chuck opened the laptop. "Sarah, what do you make of this?"

"I don't know. It's really weird. It's like he set this place up to be a home for us, but Chuck I never knew about this." Sarah definitely seemed a little freaked out. In fact two things, the creepiness of Bryce and the calm of Chuck, freaked her out.

"So, I put together a timeline from your file and from Bryce's file." Chuck turned the laptop where she could see it.

"Here is what I found:

· Fall of 2003 – You're teamed with Bryce and he complains about your distance to Graham. We already know Graham wants you together as a married Intersect couple. They begin to supply you with the drugs to make you more susceptible to suggestion.

· 2003-2004 - Bryce continues to pressure you and Graham order more missions that place you two in compromising positions and eventually you begin a physical relationship with Bryce.

· Early 2005 – You came here thinking Bryce was cheating on you. Rather he was in his first stages of preparing this place for you. That is why the clothes matched things you would wear.

· Summer 2005 – Bryce convinces Graham to order a marriage ceremony to cement the Anderson cover. He presented false information that the cover was n question. He also legally has his name changed to Tom Anderson. Your ceremony is conducted after notification of the name change being finalized.

· Fall 2005 – Your mission to Bogotá is one of your best missions with Bryce.

· November 2005 – Graham filed for a legal name change for Samantha Williams to Eva Brown with a back date before the ceremony but was denied by the DNI due to you being unavailable while undercover. The NSA is read in on CIA activities concerning Omaha and vice-versa.

· Summer 2007 – Bryce is recruited by Fulcrum following your run as the Andersons. You guys take a vacation and he disappears afterward.

· Late summer 2007 – You're ordered to join Ryker's team. The DNI recognizes this was a suicide mission and flags your records for mission updates. Graham falls under suspicion.

· September 24, 2007 – Bryce steals the Intersect and emails it to me. You're ordered to retrieve the Intersect before John Casey.

· November 26, 2007 – Bryce returns from the dead. Cleared of treason. Uses one of the code phrases on you. Bryce begins using this safe house extensively.

· January 21, 2008 – I'm nearly bunkered due to the Marlin incident with the Pita girl. Graham resubmitted "your" request for a name change, but it is denied due to you not being available to interview. Graham begins to actively seek a reason to reassign you.

· September 30, 2008 – Graham is killed in the Intersect explosion.

· October 13, 2008 – Bryce get's Beckman to order the Anderson's into action against Von Hayes.

· October 15, 2008 – Bryce files for recognition of marriage. The request is denied because Eva Brown is an alias. I assume he thought Graham was going to have your name legally changed.

· April 22, 2009 – The CIA Director Hanson submitted a request from you for a legal name change to and recognition of marriage to the DNI. I assume Bryce was behind this submission.

· April 28, 2009 – Bryce is killed. The DNI denies the request. 49B reports and Black Rock reports make the submission suspect. Special Agent Shaw is ordered to investigate if the repeated submissions are linked to the Ring. Shaw granted access to Team Intersect mission records to include personnel files for Casey, Larkin, and Walker. All record hits are forwarded to Shaw.

· May 23, 2009 – Prague

· May 24-26, 2009 – You are photographed off the grid in Lisbon.

· May 25, 2009 – Operation Cooper Recovery

· July 7, 2009 – I'm fired and return to Burbank

· January 10, 2010 – We reunite

· January 24, 2010 - Shaw annotates you lied about burying Bryce's ashes. You're added to the Ring watch list. Shaw starts a seduction mission with you as his mark.

· April 10, 2010 – You were removed from the Ring watch list. Shaw was declared dead.

· August 18, 2010 – You and Casey are in DC and you personally submitted a legal name change request to DNI. Your name is officially now Sarah Lisa Walker.

· May 16, 2011 – We're married

· March 20, 2012 – Upon reinstatement our marriage is formally recognized and you are legally Agent Sarah Lisa Bartowski."

"You think Bryce and Graham consistently sought to force me into a wedding with Bryce?" Sarah is still looking over the timeline Chuck had on the screen, and switching to the documents on the thumb drive.

"Yes. I think Bryce fell in love to the point of obsession. I mean I've seen Morgan go down some creepy paths, and that is why I fought to avoid annoying you when I thought I lost you to Superdouche. I even told you as much. Just think of how Bryce always tried to manipulate us when he returned. Heck, he convinced me that I had to lie about wanting you to protect you from yourself. You knew your issues with your father; him and Graham were to close for him not to know. He was trying to drive you away from me by getting me to abandon you emotionally. I mean that is what Prague made you feel like. That made you cover your feelings, and then Superdouche used that to manipulate both of us for his own goals."

"So someone has just enough information to think that I was married to Bryce, or they know all, but then why tell you a twisted version?" Sarah was pacing now. She stopped and stared at the large wedding portrait above the couch. Suddenly she pulled one of he knives and planted in Bryce's forehead.

When Chuck made a noise like he was suppressing a laugh, she whirled around and faced him. Putting her hands on her hips she demanded, "What's so funny? I find nothing funny about this." She pointed to the open laptop and then circled her hand around clearly indicating the house and all that it contained.

Chuck had his hands up in the surrender pose. "Sorry, I just remembered a pencil going through my forehead and thought Bryce's picture got off easy. It struck me funny, but I tried not to laugh because I know this is upsetting you and I love you."

Sarah spun around and planted another knife in the picture much lower. "There still think he got off easier?"

Chuck squirmed in his seat thinking about where the knife landed, "No. I guess I clearly know how you feel about all of this."

"Chuck, you never answered my question?" It came out harsher than she desired, but she was still very upset. Her temper was not under control and she had returned to her pacing.

Chuck had a feeling he was going to regret his answer, but it was probably better than staying quite. "Huh, what question?"

"What question?" Sarah boomed, "What do you mean what question?"

"Uh…"

"This not the time to kid!" She fixed him with a stare and gave a huff when she realized he was clearly lost. "Why tell you? That question!" Her voice had lost some volume but none of the edge.

Chuck's phone beeped with a text. He quickly scanned the message and placed it back in his pocket.

"Well? What was so important that you had to stop our conversation?"

"Casey and Morgan are at HQ and have Shaw prepped. We really need to get back. I'm sure Carina is ready for relief as well." Chuck moved forward and put his hands on her arms and began to rub them.

"Chuck, I think whoever sent that letter knows both you and Bryce, and they're targeting you," Sarah stated as she wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her head into his chest. With a sigh, she pulled back and pulled her phone out of the back pocket of her black jeans.

"Beckman secure." Came the voice on the other end as she placed the call on speaker.

"Carmichael, S and C secure. General, we're on site and found a virtual love nest intended for Bryce and me. Chuck suspects it was an effort between Larkin and Graham. I'll have him forward his findings to you. We'll need a clean up crew for most of the evidence. Some of it is going away though. I'll not have any wedding photos floating around other than those of my true wedding."

"Understood. A crew will be on site within the hour. Did you both receive the text concerning the package?"

"We did ma'am. We're heading back as soon as your crew arrives."

"Wonderful. Beckman out."

As Sarah put her phone back in her pocket she began giving instructions, "Chuck, the DNI already has photos on file. The fact that the ceremony included those is a matter of record, so help me collect all the others. Except that one! That one is mine!" She stated while pointing at the one she damaged already. She then dug in her bag and pulled out a sharpie. When she was done, the picture had, "This was a fake, just like our supposed relationship. Loser! " scrawled across the lower half of the image. She even signed it, "Always and Forever, Sarah Carmichael, never Sarah Larkin, Eva Anderson, or whoever else you dreamed about!" She then took a picture and texted it to Chuck.

Chuck was upstairs, collecting photos when she heard him laugh. She looked down at her phone and saw the read receipt on the picture text. She smiled and placed her hand on her belly, "I love your daddy's laugh." Then she went back to work preparing for the clean up crew. When Chuck walked in her saw, the gas fireplace was started.

"Are you cold?"

"Nope." She walked over to the photos and began emptying the frames and throwing them in the fire. When Chuck asked about the autographed copy she smiled, "No that one goes back to HQ so everyone has a reminder of who I love." Chuck laughed because that worked for him.

-0-

Approximately an Hour and Half Later

Casey met Sarah and Chuck with a grunt and a sarcastic comment. "About time you two could make it, or is that what held you up getting here?"

Carina snickered, "Oh stop, Casey. There is nothing wrong with them defiling Bryce's love nest considering he couldn't get any love there."

Both Carina and Casey stopped laughing when they heard a growl in two-part harmony. "Guess they don't find our humor funny? Oh well, it' good to see your growl has improved, Chuck." Casey smiled and smacked him on the shoulder.

"Come on, Chuck. Let's get this over with. We've been gone nearly a two weeks and I'm ready to be in my home fixing up our love nest and preparing for our baby. Plus I want to see my mother and sister."

"Yeah, that does sound nice. I've missed Emma. Ok, so do we want to split up? Casey and Carina take Peace, and Sarah and I take Shaw, or vice-a-versa?" Chuck asked everyone.

"Negative. We'll take care of one then the other. Chuck and Carina stay out in observation while Sarah and I talk to Shaw. He may suspect you to have an Intersect again, Chuck, but he will not suspect Sarah to have it as well. This way she can not only draw him out, but both of you can flash and later analyze your data." Casey was planning for any potential hindrances to gaining information.

Unbeknown to the team, there was another person listening to their conversation from the ventilation shaft overhead. Benetti was watching and listening through the vent overhead. _So that is Sam!_


	15. Parting Is Such Sweet Pleasure

**AN: Sorry for the delay. College, writer's block, and leading a school kinda slowed me down, and then today... the creative juices flowed and the two week old outline become paragraphs. I don't own Chuck, but I do own joy when you review.**

Chapter 15 - Parting Is Such Sweet Pleasure

Sarah stood outside the cold steel door gathering her strength to face one of her former lovers. Inside was one the biggest mistakes of her life. Daniel Shaw was an adequate boyfriend and partner when she thought Chuck was lost to himself and her, but he never compared to her husband. She knew this, but she was settling for what was, thinking Chuck chose the spy life over her rather than as the path to ensure their life together was free from being hunted as rogue agents. Back then she didn't have the courage to fight for them, to drive away Hannah, to open up about her fears, so she chose "good enough" over pushing through her internal pain to experience greatness, for that is what they were together, her and Chuck were great together. Then, Chuck boldly declared his love and then proved it by killing Shaw to save her. There's her motivation, Shaw tried to kill her three times, and Chuck twice, and now he sat behind those doors, a man who never loved her, who only sought to use her to control her husband, and then later wanted to kill them both. He truly was her greatest mistake, and despite her desire to never see him again, it was time to put all of this to rest and to learn what he might know about the Syndicate or Project Omaha.

She entered the code and listened to the hiss of the pneumatic lock releasing and the metallic click of the bolt sliding free. The door slid open and there he sat, out cold with the sedative drip still attached to his arm. She is unaware that above her Benetti is moving into position to listen to their meeting.

She walked over to the former Special Agent Daniel Shaw and began to stop the drip by sliding the pressure dial up to stop the IV. She then stood behind him and waited for him to wake up. While she waited, she heard her earpiece activate.

"Walker, Beckman is on the line and we're going to patch her into your communication channel," Casey informed her.

"Casey, how many times.."

"Agent Bartowski, please listen before you start. I just got this back, and I wanted to inform you of a status change before speaking to Shaw. The change might rattle him a little. Effective immediately, Colonel Casey, Chuck, and yourself are being promoted, your team is being split, and Agent Miller is being permanently reassigned to the NSA and is now an NSA agent. I am also being promoted to Major General."

"Excuse me." All three spies spoke at once.

"John, you're now Brigadier General John Casey. Chuck, you're Special Agent Bartowski, and Sarah, congratulations you're Special Agent in Charge Bartowski."

Sarah watched as Shaw began to stir so she spoke quickly, "How are we being split apart?"

"Not apart, but split. John and Carina will form the NSA branch of Team Intersect and the Bartowskis will comprise the CIA branch. The NSA will have the lead when on domestic missions, and the CIA on foreign missions per our mandates. John, you and Sarah will share command accordingly. Furthermore, each branch will have the lead when dealing with the team deals with their agency or their agents."

"Understood, General." Casey responded.

"Got it, Ma'am," Sarah spoke and then switched her microphone to the internal feed.

Daniel Shaw opened his eyes and took a few moments to gather information about his surroundings. He was in a cell, an interrogation room to be exact. He took in the metal table and the bracket bolted to the table, but his cuffs were not secured through the bracket. Instead, his arms were secured behind him, and three leather straps, one at his chest, waist, and thighs, secured him to a chair. He could see sensors stuck to his chest and neck to measure his pulse and heartbeat. He could feel the IV still in his arm. He knew at some point in the interrogation process he would receive an injection of Pentothal to make him more susceptible to telling the truth. He could sense someone behind him and figured it was John Casey. He was surprised when the blonde he hated entered his field of vision, and those on the other side of the glass saw his pulse spike on the readout and then return to normal.

"Good day, Sarah. I would be more specific but I've been out of it a little and I'm not sure what time it is. How are you? Have you missed me?" Shaw smiled his smirk and exaggerated his head movement, as he looked her up and down.

"You still look good. Nice to see you haven't lost that figure I enjoyed under the… well, wherever we decided." He laughed.

Sarah merely raised an eyebrow.

"Come on. You know you missed the gifts that Bartowski could never give you. I mean I still remember how much you appreciated those earrings. So tell me, am I here to offer you more comfort because your husband disappoints you? You know I really enjoyed comforting you on the night of his red test. He was kept calling, and the whole time it was, 'I can't love him anymore. I can't wait for us to leave here together. Hold me Daniel'. Of course, as the Diceman would say, 'you got the bonus package.' I know we're in DC, so how 'bout it, you want to release me and we can take another energetic tour around the penthouse?"

"That's ok. I already went back. Chuck and I broke into your safe, chased away a bad guy, and then returned to… Well, let's just say he established his superiority on your home field. Of course, you were too busy being brought back to life after you failed the first time to kill me. You remember, my husband shooting you, but he wasn't my husband back then was he? Nope, he was just my first choice. After all, he taught me that steak is better than hamburger, and I deserve the best. I bet Eve learned that lesson too. Do you think that is why she turned? Do you think she just wanted to get away from your cold robotic ways and get to someone with real passion and skill?"

"Shut up! Don't you dare talk about her! You took her from me, and as long as I live I will take Chuck from you, and then I'll kill you. I swear I'm going to bleed you one day." Shaw trembled with rage as he strained against the restraints. "Besides what would you know about love? Little miss abandoned. Poor baby, daddy didn't love you, he just used you. Mommy left you, and grandma didn't try to get her little Sammy back from her criminal father."

He smiled a smile that looked more like a snarl. "So pathetic. Langston set you up as a weapon. Amy used your trust issues to destroy the CATS. You shut Bryce out so much he didn't include you in his mission to destroy the Intersect; he just used you and toyed with your emotions. He enjoyed having the hot spy girlfriend who was so insecure she latched on to him physically, but never emotionally. The only reason you have someone now is because you found someone with more mommy and daddy issues than yourself."

Inside the observation room, the newly minted General Casey was attempting to hold Chuck back and really hoping he didn't flash to get by him. One thing they didn't want was to reveal to Shaw that either Chuck or Sarah were Intersect Agents.

"Chuck, stop. He's just trying to gain control. Sarah is ok. Look at her. She is calm and in control. He's losing it, and because he is, he will begin to give us information, but if you go in there, it will close him off."

Chuck stopped struggling. He looked at Casey and then at Carina. She had tears in her eyes as she nodded that Casey was right. She hated seeing her best friend and her wonderful husband going through the pain this monster created and exploited.

Back inside, Sarah was really the picture of calm. She had anticipated some of this. She remembered the taunting nature of Shaw the last time they had a confrontation in Castle. She remembered the way he tried to drag up her past missions and struggles. She remembered and she smiled. She smiled because she remembered how Chuck took gentle care of her as her core body temperature returned to normal. She smiled because while he was raging she was thinking about her beloved husband who always cared for her and healed all the wounds this jerk thought still existed."

"Danny, Danny, Danny. That's what Eve called you right? So, Danny, a few things have changed. You're right, those were my issues and you did, you used them to manipulate my fears to isolate me from Chuck when you wanted him as a weapon, but you failed. You failed to win me, and you failed to win Chuck, and then you failed three times to take us down, and now you're just a has been spy and a traitor."

Shaw turned red with rage. His nostrils flared, and those who once accused him of being a human board saw a rare glimpse of emotion from him.

"Chuck, it was always about Chuck. Do you really think he could love you if he knew the truth about Bryce and you? Did he know the day Bryce died you became the Widow Larkin? Seriously, I've read the reports how every time Bryce breezed through LA you guys would travel the marital highway."

Sarah laughed. She genuinely laughed. "Bryce wrote a lot of fiction in his reports. If you believed half of what he wrote, I slept with a mark on every single mission, but that is nowhere near the truth. I can count on one hand, with fingers to spare, the numbers of lovers I've had, and none of them were marks. Speaking of reports I read, I sure hope Eve's reports were fiction as well, or way, even if my whole team took off their shoes and we used our fingers…." She left her words hanging as she raised both eyebrows.

Shaw just stared straight ahead, but Sarah could hear the low growl from his throat.

"Oh Danny, is this another failure? Oh Danny, how have you failed me? Let me count the ways. You failed me as a boyfriend, a lover, a spy partner, and as my would-be assassin."

"Enjoy yourself Walker, your time is coming. I will see you breath your last breath, but not before I take down your worthless husband. Without the Intersect, he's nothing." Shaw spits out.

"Really? He dropped you without the Intersect the last time you guys crossed paths. Tricked you into uploading a virus that took your Intersect away, and dropped you like a bad habit." Sarah smiled as she stood up and walked near the window. Shaw watched her and realized Chuck was on the other side.

"Hey worthless!" He began to yell, "Had to let your handler come in here and do the real spy work. You're still the same loser hiding behind Sarah's skirt. The same skirt I used to hike up over her hips each night you left Castle to pine away for her." Shaw begins to laugh out loud.

Inside the observation room, Chuck has had enough. "General Casey, that is my wife, and I'm going in there. Please, don't try to stop me or the other morning will look like child's play."

Casey instantly remembered the morning that traitor Fisher joined the team. Sarah and Chuck had taken him, Carina, and Fisher down in mere seconds. "Fine. Let's all go."

Sarah looked over as she heard the door slide open. Shaw watched Casey, Carina, and Chuck walk in the room.

"Danny, let me introduce you to my team. This is Agent Miller, Brigadier General John Casey, and this is Special Agent Bartowski. He is the love of my life, and…" She makes a decision right there, "…and father of my child." She places her hand on her stomach. "Oh, and from the point forward you can call me Special Agent Bartowski as well. When dealing with CIA matters I'm the SAIC."

Shaw's eyes grew wide at hearing the news that Sarah is expecting a child with Chuck.

"You know, Chuck has actually given me a family. My dad paid for our wedding, my mother is safe thanks to him, his mother is back, and his sister is the best sister-in-law a person could ask for in life." Sarah smiles as she hugs Chuck's side and kisses his cheek.

Chuck looked at Daniel and smiled. "Special Agent Bartowski, may I step out from behind your skirt and speak to our distinguished guest?"

"This out to be good." Casey turned to Carina and gave a classic Casey grunt.

Chuck looked at Casey and Carina and gave a quick wink. "So, Daniel, I want to thank you for everything good in my life. I mean I really owe you a lot."

Chuck watched as Shaw tightened his jaw and stared straight ahead.

"I mean seriously, you motivated me when I needed it. I know you had your twisted reasons, but you forced me to take the training wheels off. I mean you pushed me so hard that you almost me pushed me completely away from Sarah, but then you being the superspy you are put the mission, oh and the ghost of your wife, before her and let me show her a real hero. When I saw the relief on her face as I carried you out of that exploding building, I thought she was relieved for you, but I had to tell her at least one time, bluntly that I loved her. You should've seen her face."

"Heck, I decided right then and there that my commitment to you and the agency were nothing compared to the chance to have Chuck in my life." Sarah stated truthfully. "In fact I went home and started packing to run away with him, not to move with you back here to DC."

"Really? And all this time, I thought I made a difference." Casey looked slightly shocked.

"I told you that he didn't need you to plead his case." Sarah pulled Chuck tighter.

"You know what I love about being on this team?" Carina blurted out.

"Oh, do tell, Carina." Chuck smiled at her.

"That we can totally ignore someone whose very level of importance is defined by… well by whether our not we decide they're important."

"Chuck, Honey, I think she is trying to remind us that we have people outside of these walls to deal with, and we should get on with this…" She crinkles her nose in a face of repulsion as she points at Shaw.

"Yes, where was I? Oh yes, anyways thank you for being the emotional one on our team. I mean people call me emotional, but you take the prize, buddy. I mean all filled with hate and revenge. Look at you; you're practically shaking with rage right now. So angry, you know you should see Dr. Dreyfus to help you work out all those my wife got killed for giving herself to an evil cabal. He works with a lot of CIA agents. Oops… Sorry, I almost forgot you're not an agent you're a convict. My mistake." Chuck pats him on the shoulder.

"Chuck, be nice. We do want him to give any knowledge he has on Project Omaha so we can stop that particular evil and fix some of the things that went wrong." Sarah cocks her head to the side and smiles sweetly. For moment thinks back to her standing in front of him declaring her phone is still broke because he didn't call.

"Like I would tell you anything. Your chances of learning anything from me went away with the Omen virus. Yet, I will say this. I've changed my mind."

"Oh yeah? About what?" Chuck asked as he learned over Shaw, while keeping his hand on his shoulder.

"You know Chuck, I was going to kill you first, but not now. I killed your dad quick, but I'm going to kill your wife slow. I'm going to cut her open and take your…"

Shaw never finished his threat. Chuck quickly drew a knife and sliced the chest strap free and then slammed Shaw's face straight into the bracket bolted to the table. He then got a good grip of hair and slammed his face repeatedly into the table. When Casey tried to grab him, he performed a nerve strike just under Casey's arm that temporarily paralyzed his arm. It took Sarah grabbing him and yelling his name to get him to stop.

When Chuck came to his senses, the team left the room but didn't lock the door. They immediately moved Chuck into the conference room. "Chuck, you're going to stay here and you're not going to join me back in that room." Casey was yelling at him. "Miller, did you secure the door."

"Oh crap, I was trying to guide Sarah here because she looked like she might return and take over where Chuck left off."

"Why would I do that? I think I'm the one who got him to stop. Chuck, we can't afford to create a situation where someone might be sympathetic to his case because we went overboard. I mean everyone expects some damage, but baby, you were going to kill him."

"You're right, I was going to kill him. No one, and I mean no one will threaten my child. They threaten me, no big deal. They threaten you they get hurt. They threaten our children, and I will drop them off at a dump site."

"Chuck, calm down. Honey, it's just threats. That's it. He's just got what he wanted."

"You're right. I'm sorry. Casey, are you ok?"

"Yeah moron, I'm fine. Let's take a few minutes and then we'll go back. Dang it Miller, go lock the cell."

Carina takes off down the hall and returns a few moments later. "Uh, guys? We've got a problem. Shaw's neck is broke and he's dead."

"What? How?" Chuck speaks for the whole group.

Within the hour, the entire place was on lockdown, with Team Intersect being questioned by General Beckman.

"Look General, I'll admit to losing my temper, but I didn't break his neck. Smashed his face in maybe, but I didn't break his neck." Chuck is trying to convince Beckman.

"Agent Bartowski, hold your statements until the technician reviews and certifies the footage from the cell." Beckman touched her ear and looked like she was listening to someone whisper in her ear.

"Ok, the tape is ready. Chuck, you're clear, but there is something you all need to see and hear."

The team watched the last moments of Chuck slamming Shaw into the table and Casey and Carina leading Chuck and Sarah from the room. Moments later Shaw begins to look at the ceiling. Then they see a figure drop into the room.

"You, how'd you get in here?" Shaw sounds almost drunk after the beating Chuck gave him.

"Shaw, I was going to help you for the sake of your wife, but not anymore. You see my wife wasn't a traitor, but obviously yours was. Mine died because of poor decisions by a senior leader in the CIA, not because I convinced her to go into deep cover and lose herself to the point of being turned."

"She wasn't a traitor." Shaw protests.

"Perhaps, but more than this… I could never hurt my Sam."

Shaw picks his head up to look at Benetti.

"That's right, I know Sarah Bartowski was once Samantha Williams. I'm her "Uncle Jeff" and I loved and still love her mother. I made a promise to never let anyone hurt her, and even after I got married, I always thought about them and their safety. There is no way I would ever let you hurt my sweet Emma's daughter or her child. Goodbye, Shaw."

With that Benetti looked right into the camera, walked behind Shaw and then snapped his neck.

"Sam, if you remember me. Please help me, I want to come in and help you your team, but I can't be captured here. I'll be in touch."

With that, Benetti climbed on the table and jumped up and pulled himself back into the ceiling. Moments later Carina comes in and checks on Shaw.

"Well, I guess that solves that mystery." MG Beckman declares.

Just then everyone hears a sniffle and looks over to see Sarah crying.

"Sarah, Baby, are you ok?"

"No, Chuck. I'm not ok. I loved my Jeff. He was the one I dreamed about the other night. Remember?"

"Yeah."

"Sarah, I hate to say this, but you've got to meet with him when he makes contact." MG Beckman looks at her with sympathy.


	16. Two Directions to Run

**AN: Here is another installment. Wanted to get it out sooner but hit a bit of writers block. Good news is that my college work for this semester is over, and I should be able to write a little more. I may not own Chuck (there is the disclaimer) but as long as we are allowed to write, I can make some chapters pretty Chuck and Sarah centered. Thanks for the reviews, they do mean a lot.**

**Chapter 16 - Two Directions to Run**

"Uh, guys?" Chuck quickly looked around the conference room with all the hustle and bustle from the death of Shaw. "Has anyone seen Morgan? We left him here before going to interrogate Shaw."

"He probably stepped out to get something to eat and got lost." Casey shrugged.

"Casey, you know he wouldn't do that." Sarah defended him.

"Does he have a tracker?" Carina asked while opening her phone app.

"Yeah, I put one on him so I could keep track of him and Alex," Casey stated.

The other three spies looked at him with a bit of shock on their faces.

"What? That's my little girl, and I want to know they are safe and I want to know when their together."

"Still stalking them? Casey, I thought you gave that up?" Chuck laughed to let him know he was joking.

"Yeah, that's not creepy at all." Sarah joined her husband in teasing their partner.

"Ok guys, Casey looks like he is about to explode. Enough teasing, I want to get back to the land of the sun and fun, so let's find our furry little friend." Carina smiled as she pulled up Morgan's tracker in her app. "He is here somewhere."

Everyone followed Carina as she walked through the hallways until the stopped in front of a supply closet. Casey quickly stopped anyone from opening the door. "Just a second." He leaned his ear against the door. Sarah caught his eye as she gave him a quizzical look. "Years of experience working with you two." Chuck and Sarah looked at each other and blushed. Carina put her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing out loud. "Sounds empty. Go ahead."

Carina pulled the door open as Casey stepped back with his weapon drawn. There in the corner was Morgan all curled up asleep with his head resting on a copier paper box. Casey walked in a nudged him with his foot. "Wake up."

Morgan shot up. "Benetti's here! I gotta tell the others. Oh no, I've been tranqed." Then he lay back down and started snoring.

Casey walked out and slapped Chuck on the shoulder, "He's your friend, you carry him."

Chuck looked at Sarah and she just smiled at him. Chuck walked into the room and maneuvered Morgan into a cradled position and carried him out like a father carrying his sleeping child from the car. "Come on C3PO let's get you on a plane."

Sarah stood still in thought as Chuck walked away. Then she took off following him, "Oh, I get it. Like when the golden robot got shot in Cloud City." Chuck laughed so hard he almost dropped Morgan.

"Yeah, baby. Just like that." He truly enjoyed watching her pop culture abilities grow and for being a part of that growth. "Come on. Let's get home and we'll see if Benetti contacts us."

Moments after they left the storage room, Benetti dropped from the ceiling. He stood there for a moment and decided to not attempt stowing away with the team. He would make his way back west through other means. It was time to visit an old safe house if it was still his safe house.

Approximately Two Hours Later

A solitary figure moves along the sidewalk that runs through the community park. To those who passed him, he's simply another person who looked to be enjoying the warming weather of winter moving into spring. Spring would not come officially for a little over another month, but the sun was out and the man with the ball cap and sunglasses looked like any other man in his mid to late fifties. In fact, he walked with a certain confidence out of the park, across the street, and into the residential neighborhood. He passed a few colonial style homes and made his way to a two-story residence and walked up and climbed the steps. He made his way to the end of the porch and gently nudged the last capstone on the bricked half wall of the porch. It moved, so he lifted the capstone and looked underneath it. His key was still there. He quickly removed his key and attempted to unlock the door. The key slid into place the tumblers fell. He was inside and it appeared no one was there.

Once he checked all the upstairs rooms, he worked his way down into the basement. Everything still looked the same. He was home, after all these years he was back. True, it was not his official place of residence, but he and his wife shared this home. This house was their shared safe house. He walked over to the small bed in the basement and felt along the edges of the mattress and box springs. He felt the latch, and the mattress lifted on hydraulic arms revealing a stash of weapons and a small safe. He removed the two Beretta M9 pistols, the M16A2, and their supporting clips and ammunition. He slid the 9MM clips home, pulled back the slide and allowed a round to chamber. However, before he attempted to lock and load the M16, he squeezed the trigger on safe and felt for the appropriate resistance. Then he rotated the selector switch from safe to semi and squeezed the trigger listening to the metallic click. Maintaining his pressure on the trigger, he rotated once more to burst and let the trigger loose and felt the dull click of the trigger mechanism. The M16A2 was still fully functional, so he locked and loaded.

With his weapons in place, he made his way to a shelf in the back corner. He felt along the side and slid his fingers into the release. Applying the right pressure, the shelf swung out and revealed a short passageway into the garage. As he walked through the passage, he opened a few boxes grabbing unused identities, various currencies, and a set of keys. The next step was the long shot, he would soon find out if his monthly payments were worthwhile. He walked into the garage and looked at the 1995 charcoal colored BMW 318i. He unlocked the door, released the hood, and looked underneath. The oil and fluids looked good, so he climbed in and attempted to start the engine. The car turned over, and he knew he made the right choice in sending the payments. He pushed the garage door opener and pulled out of the garage. Benetti was headed back to the land of fun in the sun.

-0-

Meanwhile, the flight back to Burbank went smoothly. Morgan slept off the effects of being knocked out while Carina dosed off and on caring for him. Chuck, Casey, and Sarah all took turns flying the jet home. When they all arrived everyone was pretty tired, well everyone but Morgan. Therefore, he was elected to drive everyone to Echo Park. There Carina, Morgan, and Casey all said goodbye to Chuck and Sarah, who went to their home. It was on the trip home that the subject of Sarah's "Uncle Jeff" came up.

"Chuck, now that we're alone and no one is in the car, do you think we can talk about the situation with Benetti and my mother?" Sarah was speaking, but she wasn't looking at Chuck, rather she kept her eyes on the road.

Chuck smiled an enormous smile. He remembered just a few years ago, heck even just a year ago, this would've been outside of her wheelhouse. Open discussions weren't her normal forte. "Sarah, baby, I'm willing to talk about whatever you want to talk about. After all, you know me, most times I can't let anything rest without exhausting it with a bunch of words and rambling talk."

Sarah reached over and touched his cheek. He felt the coolness of her bracelet as it touched his face. "I know honey, and that's one of the things I love about you, and one of the things I'm learning from you. Chuck, I don't know what to think about the man I remember as Uncle Jeff being Benetti."

"I'm listening. Just try to tell me what's going through that pretty little head of yours and don't be afraid to ramble to get it all out. I mean I'm the 'King of Rambling' so I will not judge." Chuck's voice held a jovial quality.

Sarah took a deep breath and blew it out. "Jeff was kind to my mother and filled a void when my father took off. We never knew, or at least I never suspected, that he was anything other than a kind man who my mother liked. As a kid, I never realized she probably had feelings for him. I mean I probably would've realized it later, when I was older, if I'd thought about it, but it never actually came up after she left me at my grandmothers."

She paused for a moment as if in deep thought, and then she glanced at Chuck. He sat there looking at her and he noticed how she was trying to work it all out. He shifted his position in his seat so that he was angled more towards her, and then he placed his hand on her leg.

She drew comfort from his touch and tried to quiet her mind enough to continue. "Chuck, I don't know what happened that caused us to leave. What I gather is, that Jeff knew something was about to come to a head with the CIA, and tipped my mother off. Actually, that's not accurate. He helped her to escape. We know that, and we know that they were after my dad, so I've got to assume something else was going on."

"Sarah were spies, and you've been one a lot longer than I've been one. You've done an incredible job keeping me from some of the darker paths of espionage and know that you've done an excellent job. In all that we've seen and been through, I'm still fighting every day to be a wiser version of the guy you fell for when you first arrived in Burbank. Yet, I know that at times, you and I must do things that put strain on who we are and who we want to be deep down inside. Therefore, I think you need to think like the hardest and coldest spy version of yourself, and then ask yourself this question: what would the CIA be willing to do to get your dad? What would you've been prepared to do if, in your words, I didn't make you want to be somebody better?"

Chuck let her sit in silence. She continued to drive up to their home and into the driveway. She hit the garage door opener and drove into the left side of the double garage. She smiled as she stopped the car when the hanging tennis ball touched the windshield. _My Chuck is such a nerd_, she thought to herself. "Come on, Chuck. We'll finish this conversation in the house, but first I want to get in, relax, and find something to eat."

Chuck carried their bags into their room and placed them next to the closet doors. Sarah walked in behind him and put her arms around his waist as she hugged him from behind. She laid her head on his back and they stood there for just a few minutes with his hands holding hers in front of him. She eventually broke the embrace and moved to the edge of their bed and took a seat. Chuck walked over and unzipped her boots and helped take them off of her. He then stood there and watched as she gently slid her feet over the area rug beside the bed.

"Feel good?" Chuck asked her smiling.

"Yeah, it all feels right. I missed being home. I mean my safe house was fantastic and so was the nights of luxury in the hotel, but this is ours. A place we started together. Even the apartment, my first real home, doesn't compare to this." She laid back and stretched her back out. "Come here."

Chuck moved to the edge of the bed and laid face down, next to her, allowing his legs to hang off the side of the bed. He slid one arm under her head and his other over her torso. He then snuggled up to her neck and kissed her. "I love you and just so you know, home is just another word for you."

She rolled slightly and looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Did you just quote Billy Joel?"

"How does the woman who hardly gets pop culture references even know that was Billy Joel?"

"Hello? Do you not remember I heard that song while I was in DC trying to get back into the CIA? I heard it on the plane." She merely stated before placing a kiss on his forehead.

"Oh yeah, I forgot. Sarah, if you had a safe house in DC, why didn't you stay there instead of staying on the plane?"

Sarah rolled over and propped herself up over Chuck. "I don't know. I guess after the beach I really didn't want to be away from you. I was so confused. My heart told me everything was true, and I knew I could love you, but my training…. And then there was Casey."

"Casey?"

"Yeah. He stopped by the hotel and gave me my video logs from the early years of your protection. He said we were both hardcore spies and we became friends because of you. I watched the videos and heard myself confess my love for you. That's why I came to see you in the courtyard that night. Then after it was all done, he hugged you. Cold school Casey gave you a hug. It confirmed to me that I was unfair to you, but I just couldn't take the chance of being hurt more." She stopped when the tears began to form and it became hard to speak without her voice quivering.

"Well, that's all over now. We got back to us, then we got back your memories, and then we got our team back, along with Carina. Now we're going to figure all this out, and stop this Syndicate, but before we do that, let's get up and get you that food you mentioned in the garage."

"In a minute, let's just relax for a few more minutes." Sarah held him down and then she placed a big kiss on him. "Better yet, follow me. Let's take a nice hot bath, and you can rub my back while you wash my back."

"Excellent idea!" Chuck sprung up and took her by the hand pulling her to their ensuite.

"Um, Chuck. Slow down, honey. I'm afraid until I feel human again and have an excellent meal; a back rub means a back rub. After all that, maybe we'll see about a back rub meaning something a little more."

"Fine, you can't blame a husband for trying, especially when his wife is so beautiful, and tempting, and desirable…"

Sarah interrupted him with a bit of laughter as she said, "Flattery is not going to work. Your baby needs his or her momma to be relaxed and nourished. So tell me, is the man who is sure to be the greatest dad in the world going to upset his baby before it's born?"

"Thought you said flattery wasn't going to work?"

"On me. Of course, it's going to work on the most sensitive and caring husband a girl could ever dream of marrying."

"Fine, let's get you relaxed and then we'll make something to eat, or we can order out."

After the hot bath, Chuck and Sarah decided to meal simple by making some grilled sandwiches from the portion of their grocery supplied that didn't go bad while they were away. Chuck opened a few cans of soup, and they sat down on the couch to eat.

After dinner, they decided to sit for a while on the sofa and cuddle before the fireplace. Chuck noticed Sarah wearing her sweats, with her hair up in a high ponytail, and just admired how much he adored the side of her that no one else really got to see: Sarah at home completely relaxed.

He was rubbing her shoulders when she started to talk again, and for once Chuck was glad he didn't bring up their conversation in the car.

"Chuck, I've been thinking about what you told me and asked me. I think I've come to a conclusion. I would assume that there is a genetic possibility that Jack's abilities might be passed down to his child. Therefore, if I could not be sure that Jack wouldn't show and possibly take his family off the grid, or at least his child, I would probably burn the mother and place them both in protective custody or a bunker."

"Oh my gosh, Sarah. Oh my gosh, that has to be it! Benetti must've gotten a heads up that they were shifting their focus to you."

"Then why get my mom to drop me off with my grandmother?"

"Come on, baby. Think like a spy. You need to get a daughter off the CIA radar who is being tracked. What would Sarah Walker do?" Chuck emphasized her maiden name to draw her back to the her that existed before Molly and before Chuck.

"I'd split them up. I'd split them up because everyone would be looking for a mother and daughter. This way they could both be safe, but it would mean that they'd likely never be able to see one another again or at best for a very long time."

"And is that not what happened?"

"Yeah, it is! I wasn't able to make contact with my mother until I was an operative and I had the resources to track her like I tracked your father. Except he let me! You know that still bugs me just a little?"

"What that you had to track down your mom, or that my dad let us find him?"

"Both!" She smiled to let him know she wasn't really that upset. She loved her mother, and she loved her late father-in-law.

Chuck smiled at her with tears in his eyes, "Yeah, good old dad! Though for the life of me I'll never understand him or your mom's way of thinking."

"What do you mean?"

"You know the whole run away and leave your loved ones to protect them mentality, instead of the stay and fight for them mentality."

"Well, Chuck. How many times do I have to say it? You're that guy. The one who runs towards the bomb to save people, or the one who uploads dangerous technology into their brain to save the ones they love. Not to mention the one who will not run away with the beautiful girl who is madly in love with him because it would not be the best life, but a second best life. You're a hero, and heroes don't respond like normal people. You know, people like our parents. And that Mr. Bartowski is why I love you, and why I know our baby will always be safe."

"Me? What about you? It wasn't me who knowingly put on a pair of faulty Intersect glasses, risking brain damage to save my loved ones. That was you, and I've seen the sacrifices you'll make, and the carnage you'll leave behind to save the people you care about. Therefore, rest assured, Mrs. Bartowski, I know beyond a shadow of doubt you'll always protect our baby, and that my dear Sarah is why I love you."

As the sat there lost in each other, Chuck's phone began to ring. Chuck picked it up and looked at it, but there was no call incoming, and then he realized it was the Carmichael Industry public phone line. He made his way over to the desk and picked it up, "Carmichael Industries, Charles Carmichael speaking."

"Agent Carmichael, I need to speak to Sam." Chuck's eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open. He looked over at Sarah with a nervous look. "Well, let me speak to my little Sam."

"Um… Sam, it's Jeff." Chuck stated as he held the phone out to Sarah. Her eyes went wide and she instantly looked more awake that she had all evening. Chuck continued walking over to her and placed the handset on speaker.

"Hello?" Sarah spoke up.

"Hi, Sam. You may not remember me, but I was once a big part of your life."

"I remember you." Sarah quickly mouthed the words "track the call" to Chuck. He broke out of his shock and quickly pulled up the triangulation program on their computer.

"Look, I know you're going to try and track this call. I know who you are now both personally and professionally. I made some mistakes, and I was going to carry on with those errors, but I can't now. Not with you involved. I need to meet you, I've got critical information for your success. I'll call you again at this number, but not from this one. Go ahead and report to your director, I need you in a good standing if I stand a chance of surviving this. Sam, Shaw is proof that I still love the little girl I once knew, and her mother."

Sarah stared at Chuck as the unmistakable beep of a dropped call was heard from the handset. "I got him moving west through Tennessee. We needed more time to get a more precise lock."

"Chuck, you get the honor of waking up Beckman. I need some fresh air, I'll be out back in the yard swing."

"I understand, babe. It may not be the beach, but looking at the stars can still help. I'll join you when I'm done reporting the call."

Sarah got up and walked outside. Chuck watched her from the kitchen window before opening the secure link on their TV. Their night of relaxation just got a little longer.


	17. Nice To See You Again

**AN: Did a couple of rewrites. I had an element that my wife agreed was funny, but in the end, my core values won out, and it was removed. Some things should be sacred even among fictional husband and wife, even in inferential form, which my original... anyways ... at least in my stories, I will keep it at a T level. Hope you enjoy the chapter.**

Chapter 17 -

"Beckman, secure."

"General, Benetti has made contact. He called the Carmichael Industries public corporate line and requested a meet at a place and time to be determined. I placed a trace on his call and he appears to be traveling west and currently in the state of Tennessee, but I could not get a closer fix due to the quickness of the call. He did say that he wants to come in now that he knows Sarah is involved with our project." Chuck was pacing past the kitchen doorway as he kept an eye on his wife out in the yard. She was sitting with her knees pulled up and her arms wrapped around herself. Chuck knew this meant she was bothered and in deep thought. For a moment, he felt like he felt back in the early years when he would watch her when she was unaware. Now, like then, he wondered what was going through her head.

"Chuck, stop pacing?" Beckman's voice was slightly raised and sharp.

"Yes, ma'am. I apologize I was checking on Sarah and got distracted."

"Chuck, I know you two worry about each other, and you should, but you should never lose focus even in a briefing. You could miss something vital to the safety of the very person you're worried about."

"I know, ma'am. Thank you for being understanding. What did I miss, if I may ask?"

"You may. I was telling you to contact Casey and run various COAs to try and control the outcome of the meeting."

"Will do. Ma'am, what is your intent for this meeting? Should we talk and see, or should we plan to conduct a snatch and grab?"

"I'm leaving that up to your team. Chuck, did he give any indication that he know that either Sarah or you have the Intersect upload?"

"No, ma'am. Very well then, Beckman out." The screen went black and Chuck looked out back. He decided to call Casey. Walking onto the back patio he dialed Casey's number.

"Casey, secure."

"Hey, Casey. Benetti contacted us, and I called it into Beckman."

"When?"

"He called just a few minutes ago. He wants to arrange a meet with Sarah."

"Ok. I'll get Carina, and we'll come over in the morning. We'll run various scenarios and see what we can't put together to make sure nothing goes sideways."

"Sounds good, General."

"Yeah, yeah. Now get off this phone and go obey SAIC Bartowski." Casey started laughing over his little joke about Sarah being Chuck's new boss.

"Whatever."

"He hung up," Chuck said to no one in particular as his wife watched him from the swing. He walked up to her and took a seat. He placed his arm around her should and she snuggled into him.

"Casey, giving you a difficult time?" She looked up at him.

" A little about you outranking me." He commented like it was nothing, and, in fact, it was a part of their friendship now.

"Chuck, does it bother you that when we got back into this a few months ago, you were supposed to be the lead, and now things have changed?"

"Hmm, let's see how things have changed. First, you weren't supposed to be on the team, and it this was all to get you help to remember. Second, Casey wasn't supposed to be on the team, but I was hoping he might rejoin us one day. Third, I never cared about any of this unless you were with me. Soooo, I would have to say no, as long as were together I don't care who outranks who." Chuck smiled.

"You know you're really a remarkable guy. Most men would not see things as you do. I really love that you're a super spy without the super spy attitude."

"I've no need to have an attitude. I have the six of the greatest spies connected to me. First, there's my beautiful ninja wife, who any man would be considered lucky to share life with. Then, there's my mother, who can go undercover for over twenty years and never loose herself. Next, there's one of my best friends, a guy who could crush most men in hand to hand combat, not to mention one of the top 3 snipers in the world. After him, is the deadly redhead who can charm the socks of any man she desires. Finally, there's my wife's friend and fellow CAT who is absolutely as deadly as she's a dark exotic beauty."

"Ok, you know the last two have me a little jealous in their description. I assume the last one is Zondra so I'll let it slide, but we need to set the record straight on Carina. She can charm the pants off any guy, but mine."

"Well she did try, and she failed because next to you, every woman is just a little less than the best."

"You keep talking like that and I might forget how tired I am." Sarah gave him a wink.

"Come on. Let's go to our bed, for a change. We got a busy day tomorrow," With that Chuck led here inside and locked up behind them.

-0-

It was dark and his eyes were getting heavy as he traveled to North Little Rock, Arkansas. He saw the signs and eased his way off I-40 at an exit just before he reached the city proper and stopped at a Days Inn next to a gas station. He would have preferred more of a pay by the hour kind of place, but this should work if he were careful to avoid cameras. He had been on the road for roughly 15 hours and needed the rest. With another 15 to 16 hours of driving, he would be in Flagstaff, Arizona, and then it was 7 more hours to LA. Benetti was tired and he wanted to come in and protect Sam and Emma. As he entered the building, he took note of the cameras and quickly put his head down like he was reading the paper he held folded in his hand.

He checked in without exposing his face to the cameras and made his way down the hallway to his room. He entered the room and secured the safety latch. As he laid down to rest, he thought back on his life. He regretted leaving Sam and Emma to make it on their own as the tried to get away from the CIA. He hated that he had failed to protect Sam, seeing she was now an agent and more telling an Intersect. Sleep slowly overtook him as he thought about the pain the Intersect had caused in his life, even before he knew of the project.

-0-

The sunlight drifted into the room. It was going to be a full day. Chuck stirred slightly as he awoke from his deep slumber. He could feel the heat of Sarah's body next to him, so he rolled over and placed an arm around her waist, and attempted to pull her closer. She started to respond and then suddenly sprung from the bed and ran to the bathroom. Moments later he heard the sounds of Sarah being sick. He made his way to her.

"Hey, baby, you ok?" He asked as he sat on the edge of the tub and brushed her hair back.

"Yeah. I thought I was getting lucky. Here I am pushing my third month and I thought I might be one of the lucky ones who didn't get morning sickness." She sat back on her heels. "I think it's over."

"Come on, I'll help you up and we can go down and get you some oatmeal or maybe some Jello to help with your tummy." Chuck helped her up and put his arm around her.

"Just a minute, let me brush my teeth first." She pulled out both of their toothbrushes and the tube of paste.

"Guess I'm brushing mine as well?"

"If you want kisses you are." She smiled.

"Yeah, I definitely want those," he said as he leaned over and stole a kiss.

Sarah wrinkled her nose at him. "You're gross."

"Nope. I'm in love with the best woman in the world, and besides it isn't like it was an open mouthed kiss."

She just frowned and wrinkled her nose again.

"Fine, come on let's brush and then eat if you can." Chuck smiled and hugged her close. She just sighed and laid her head on his shoulder.

After breakfast, Sarah took a quick shower and started getting ready before Casey and Carina to arrive. As she was getting dressed, she began to notice that certain articles of clothing seemed to be shrinking overnight. She had noticed while they were away from home that her pants and undergarments were a bit snugger, but it seemed like over night none seemed to fit anymore. In the end, she selected one of her old Double O tank tops and put an oversized shirt on over top. It did little to hide the changes occurring to her anatomy. She even had to select a pair of yoga pants, making her thankful for the oversized shirt. As she descended the stairs, Chuck gasped. He really liked the casual look.

"You like this?" Sarah asked as she spun around before him.

"I do," he replied smiling from ear to ear.

Sarah stopped spinning and put her hands on her hips. "Well, I'll have you know this is your fault. All of my clothes are starting to not fit and it's only going to get worse."

"Whoa, how's this my fault?"

"You did this to me."

"Huh, if I remember right, you were a willing participant on the train," Chuck stated with a bit of a huff.

"Are you saying I don't remember?" Her tone told Chuck he was on the verge of a very bad day. "I've got all my memories back, and I might've been consenting, but it was still your idea. You're the one who opened the sleep chamber as a way to pass time and make sure I didn't flash. Say I'm wrong, go ahead!" Sarah looked very cross by now.

Chuck went into deep thought and triggered a flash, and that's when he learned just how susceptible women were to mood swings during the first stages of pregnancy due to changes in their hormone levels.

"What did you just flash on?"

"Uh, pregnancy facts about mood swings," Chuck, said timidly.

"The Intersect contains that kind of information?" Sarah thought about it and flashed as well. "That still doesn't let you off the hook."

Just then the doorbell rang, and Chuck bolted for the door mumbling something that sounded like, "Saved by the bell." Sarah just stared daggers into his back. She didn't know why she was so mad, it's just she dreaded all the coming changes. Then an idea hit her, she knew how to make Chuck pay, and she was going to use a little bit of their wealth to make it happen.

Chuck pulled Casey into a hug, "Thank goodness you're here."

"Get off me!" Casey practically growled.

"Carina, you're here too. I'm so glad to see you guys," Chuck stated as the pulled her into a hug as well.

Carina looked over Chuck's shoulder at Sarah and quickly extracted herself from his arms. "Uh, Chuck please let me go before your wife kills me. I've seen that look on her face before, and it's never pretty."

"Sweetie, could you please come over here for a minute? I think it's about time for us all to sit down and talk, and I think you should be a good host and get everyone something to drink. I'll take a decaf coffee."

"Sure, honey."

When he went into the kitchen, she followed. "So what was that all about?"

"What greeting our teammates?"

"You mean hugging our teammates. Hugging Casey was weird, but hugging Carina didn't make me happy."

"I'm sorry."

"Chuck, you can make all of this up to me later. "

"How?"

"You'll see, but right now we need to plan for our meeting."

"Ok."

Chuck quickly made the two separate pots of coffee. He placed each pot in a separate carafe and carried them to the table, and then made trips for cups and coffee condiments.

"Ok, so here is what we know, Benetti wants to meet with Sarah and turn himself in so he can help protect Sarah." Chuck broke the ice.

"Right, and how is he traveling? Do we know?" Carina looked at each of her teammates as she asked the questions. Each of them shrugged.

"We're not sure, but I would assume he is driving a car. Chuck, did you tell me where he was last night?" Casey turned to Chuck.

"No, I was listening to you conversation and he never mentioned it to you, but I think you're right. He called me from Tennessee, or at least that's where Chuck traced his call to before he hung up." Sarah informed Casey.

Carina was counting silently on her fingers and then stopped. "Ok, so the average person can normally drive somewhere between 12-16 hours before needing to stop. That means he will likely be in town sometime tomorrow. The question is, will he make contact then or wait a day?"

"I would count on him making contact ASAP," Sarah stated, "He seemed eager to meet me, and help me."

"Do you think this some type of trap?" Casey looked Sarah straight in the eye as he studied her reaction to the question.

"No."

"No? Sarah, how can you be sure?" Carina had a look of concern on her face. She really didn't want Sarah to be careless concerning this guy.

"Look, he was like a second father to me at one time. He sacrificed a relationship with my mother, and took a chance with his career to protect us from the CIA." She stated with what looked like watery eyes. Chuck reached over and held her hand.

"Ok. It's just I don't want you to make another mistake concerning a guy." Carina looked her in the eye.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Chucked snapped looking to defend his wife.

"It just means Wal… Sarah hasn't always made the best choices where guys who give her attention are concerned." Casey stated in a very matter of fact business tone.

"Are you hinting I've got daddy issues?" Sarah glared at Casey.

"Yeah, you could say that. Your father used you in his criminal life, Graham used you as a weapon pretending to be a father figure, Larking convinced you he cared and maybe even loved you, and let's not even bring the manipulation of…."

"Enough. She gets it, Casey." Chuck raised his voice.

"No, you don't get it. While, you may have healed her attention needs, it still doesn't mean there isn't a child like hope still in there that at least one of the men before you was a decent guy." Casey wasn't upset, he was thinking clinically. In fact, he and Carina had discussed on their way over from Echo Park.

"Guys, I see your point, but trust me, I'm not holding onto some childhood dream. I just really think from the way he spoke we can trust him enough to turn himself over to me."

"Ok, then how do you want to play this?" Carina was willing to move forward, but she still held deep concerns.

"I think, I'm going to try and get Chuck invited to the party."

"I like the sound of that," Chuck spoke up from his moment of silent contemplation.

"Ok, where do you want him to meet you?" Casey was trying to think through places where there were concealments and very few avenues of egress.

"Honestly, I was thinking about Camera Obscura in Palisades Park. The path is narrow enough by the ocean trail to provide two points of regress, but with low vegetation it also provides a good line of sights. Finally, with the warming weather, it will also have a good crowd on any given day."

Chuck smiled, "That sounds like the ideal place. It sure beats the open fields out by the windmills where we met Vivian that one time."

"Alright then, I guess that is settled. Now all we do is wait for him to call." Carina stated.

"That's not all we do Miller. You and I are going on a recon to look for observation points to provide over watch." Casey directed as he stood to leave. "Bartowskis, enjoy your day, tomorrow we all work."

Chuck saw Casey and Carina out, and then walked back to the kitchen where Sarah was washing their coffee cups.

"Chuck, go get your wallet and keys."

"Why?"

"You're taking me shopping for new clothes. I told you, you were going to make it up to me."

"Right, because I'm an evil man."

"You're not evil, you're just responsible for what happened."

"How am I responsible?"

"Well if I get there nothing happens to you, but if you on the other hand…"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it. I can see your logic." Chuck sighed in defeat.

The rest of the day was a special kind of torture for Chuck. She dragged him from one store to another. First, they shopped for larger versions of some of Sarah's favorite outfits. Next, they shopped for some beginning sized maternity outfits. Finally, she did the ultimate; she made him hold items she wanted to try on. So there Chuck was in VS holding silky and lacy items outside the fitting room with Sarah inside. To say he got either strange or humored looks from the lady patrons was an understatement. He did, however, receive some looks of sympathy from a few fellow men being drug around by their female companion.

Shortly after they arrived home, Chuck was stretched across the foot of the bed, with Sarah's feet in hand massaging while she continued her "payback". She was wearing the foundational layer of one of her new outfits, but only her feet were allowed to be touched for now. True to any marriage, Chuck's hand had been slapped, in a playful manner, a few times. So there they were, relaxing and enjoying each other's company when the company phone rang.

"Carmichael Industry," Sarah greeted the caller.

"I'll arrive tomorrow afternoon."

"Camera Obscura in Palisades Park at 1 pm. I'll bring my husband." Sarah stated in quick, rushed words.

"Ok. I want to meet him. Then you can take me wherever after we talk." With that Benetti hung up the phone.

"Chuck, we're set for tomorrow at 1 pm."

"Wonderful. Well scoot over, we need to get some rest. We'll call the team tomorrow morning and let them know." Chuck stated as he crawled up to the head of the bed and slid under the covers.

"Wait, I'm not ready for bed."

"You're not?"

"No." Sarah entered their walk-in closet and then emerged, a few minutes, later in a silky nightgown that graced the top of her knees. "Do you like my married mom gown?"

"Yeah, it's nice, but I prefer what you were wearing." Chuck smiled as seductively as he could.

"Those are not for sleeping. It would be too restricting." Sarah shook her head. "Silly man, this is for putting on when I need to move around in front of the kids." Chuck didn't miss the plural form of kid, but he also let it go.

"Speaking of our baby, when are you going to go in for a doctors appointment? We've been on the road and all, but isn't about time to make sure everything is ok?" Chuck asked as he held his arm out for Sarah.

She snuggled into his side and put her head on his shoulder. Then she tilted her head up and kissed him. "Yeah, I'll call in the morning. Goodnight, Chuck."

"Goodnight, baby."

-0-

The morning passed quickly. It was almost time for them to meet Benetti. The team pulled into the park and went to take up positions. Chuck and Sarah were seated at a table on the backside of the building with a good view of the ocean. Carina was nearby at a concession stand posing as a customer. Casey had snuck into a room inside the visitor area where he could watch the tables outside.

Benetti walked slowly around the building looking at the visitors. He eased toward the tables on the outdoor patio and spotted Sam. He moved closer and took a seat at their table. "Hello, Sam or as I hear it, it's Sarah now."

"Hello, Uncle Jeff or should I say Joseph? This is my husband, Charles Carmichael."

"Oh yes, the famous son of Orion. I heard of your father. He was a good man who tried to stop the project once he learned the horror of what could happen. Of course, when I was in the project he was a missing legend."

Chuck's eyes narrowed.

"I spoke to Shaw on the plane and briefly in the cell."

"Sam…"

"It's Sarah now."

"Sarah, I want to protect you and your family. I always have and I always will. It's not just Richardson who's after you. There's a woman named Jill. She is some kind of scientist, but that's enough here. You aren't the only ones looking for me…."

Suddenly Chuck was hit with a mist, and Benetti slumped forward hitting the table. That's when the rifle report caught up. Chuck and Sarah both dove for cover, but no other shots were fired. Carina and Casey both came running up to help cover them.

At a nearby location, a man closed a bipod and cased his weapon. "It's done. He was talking to them, not sure if he compromised you boss. I should've taken out the other two."

From the other end of the phone call, "No, their mine. Especially, Chuck. I want her to suffer in front of him, and I want her to see him leave her for me. When I'm done, he'll be bigger than Volkoff."


	18. The Prestige

**AN: The Prestige was a movie that centered on the idea that there is always a turn in a magic show where things are not as the seem. That idea drives the chapter. Like most of the ideas in Chuck, radio controlled cars that explode while Chuck is behind pallets, I took some freedom. I don't own Chuck, but I am trying to own this chapter, even it is a flop. Hope you enjoy.**

Chapter 18 – The Prestige

Casey pulled Bennetti from the chair and settled him on the ground. "Chuck, quick give me your jacket to cover his face."

"Here! Look, Morgan is headed this way with the clean up crew."

Morgan arrived leading men who looked like EMTs. Morgan was dressed the same as they were. They loaded the body onto a gurney and began to haul him away. Carina and Sarah were flashing FBI badges backing everyone away from the body and ordering people to stop filming.

In a matter of minutes, the team was either in the ambulance or in Casey's Crown Vic speeding towards their temporary base in Echo Park. Along the way, the ambulance dropped into a parking garage where four occupants got out and got in a Dodge Charger that was waiting for them. As they pulled out, Chuck turned to Sarah and the man in the backseat.

"Looks like it worked." Chuck smiled.

"Chuck, that was incredible film art, dude." Morgan was looking at his friend with awe.

"Chuck, how did you know this would work?" Sarah was glad it worked but couldn't figure out why.

"Do you want to tell them, Benetti?" Chuck asked the man in the backseat.

-0-

About five hours before the shooting, Chuck and Sarah were sitting at home prepping for the mission, as Bennetti crossed the Arizona state line into California.

"Chuck, get the phone," Sarah called out from the fridge.

"Carmichael Industries," Chuck answered.

"Charles?" The male voice on the other end asked.

"This is him."

"I picked up a tail, and need help."

"Jeff?"

"Yes. I need to either lose the tail or need you to intercept."

"Roger, listen. I need you to stop at the gas station across from the Buy More Plaza on Burbank Boulevard," Chuck quickly instructed. "I will meet you in outside the restroom inside.

One Hour Before the Shooting

Chuck and Bennetti slipped inside the restroom. It had four stalls and a few urinals. Chuck had gear stashed in the last stall.

"Get in the last stall and put on the fake head. It will raise your height about 6 inches. In other words, you'll be looking out the nose. The shoulders slope down like your normal shoulders and then put on the arm extensions to make the coat sleeves fit right. The coat is just like the one you had in the surveillance video from DC and I used a 3D printer to make a replica you. The top will be a little heavy because it is filled with fake brain matter and actual blood from blood bags. I'm leaving now. See you at the meeting sight."

Back In The Vehicle

"Every self-respecting sniper takes a headshot, not a body shot." Benetti shrugged.

"Of course," Sarah smiled at her husband and his brilliance.

"Of course what?" Morgan was looking in the review mirror.

"Morgan, look ahead. You're driving. What Sarah realized, and what we were banking on is that all snipers are willing to take a headshot to guarantee death rather than a body shot that might hit a vest."

"Oh, I get it." Morgan smiled; his friend really was a genius.

"Now what, Chuck?" Sarah asked.

"We get Benetti to a safe location, and then we'll all sit down and talk," Chuck stated turning his attention to the drive in front of them.

-0-

"Major Malik, what've we discovered?"

"General, Peace isn't talking. He will not give up his contact here in our office."

Beckman frowned at the Major sitting in front of her. Very well, I guess the time has come to take a more personal approach to this situation.

"Inform the guards, I'll be handling the interrogation from this point forward. Let me change out of this Class A uniform and I'll be right down. You're dismissed."

The General decided to set up a link with Chuck and Sarah to gain a little insight into Peace and if they discovered anything yet from Benetti.

-0-

Chuck and Sarah, along with Benetti and Morgan entered Echo Park and entered one of the CIA held apartments. Carina and Casey were waiting for them to arrive.

"Ok, everyone, let's get Beckman up on the screen," Casey announced as Carina double-checked the blinds for security.

Chuck quickly pulled out a scanner for bugs and gave an all clear. They were ready to talk to their leader.

Seconds later the general appeared on the screen. "Hello, team."  
"Ma'am, we've got Benetti with us. He was being targeted and we were able to fake his death."

"Interesting. What are your plans for extracting information, General Casey?"

"I'm going to let the Bartowskis handle the interrogation."

"Very well. I'm going to personally conduct the questioning of Peace. Depending on who finishes first, we'll be in contact. Beckman out."

"All right, he's yours." Casey turned and looked at Chuck and Sarah.

Chuck and Sarah walked into one the back bedrooms and relieved Carina of guard duty.

"Benetti, we saved you so that you could come clean and help us shut down the Syndicate," Chuck announced as he took a seat at a table across from Benetti.

"I understand, but I want you both to know, I also want to restore a little of my lost life. I want to know about you, Sam, I mean, Sarah." He never took his eyes off her.

"Ok," Sarah stated. "Tell us what you know, and then I'll give you the time you desire, but understand I'll not talk about anything classified."

"I would not ask that of you," Benetti said with sad eyes. "The Syndicate is a group of people who hate each of you for varied reasons, or they hate either the CIA or NSA as a collective due to various projects. Think about your worst enemies forming an evil Justice League."

Chuck laughed under his breath.

"What did I say that was so funny?" Benetti looked at him, and he noticed that Sarah had her usual 'I just missed a pop culture reference' look.

"The Crime Syndicate was an evil Justice League in a parallel universe in a comic book."

"Figures." Benetti shook his head.

"Why's that?" Sarah asked.

"The real leader lurking in the shadows is a biochemist and fan girl of comics."

"Do you know her name?" Sarah asked.

"She goes by Mia Profitt, though I doubt that's her name." Benetti shrugged.

"Run that by me again, did you say, Mia Profitt?" Chuck was leaning over the table.

"Yes." Benetti brows furrowed as he looked at Chuck.

"Carina!" Chuck turned and yelled. "Oh, this is bad." He looked back at Sarah.

"Yeah, Chuckles?" Carina asked as she stepped into the room.

"Stay here with Benetti. Sarah, come with me as I'm sure you want to hear this." He took her by the hand and led her back into he living room.

"Casey, pull up the General. We need to talk right away, we just discovered information she needs." Chuck had a crazed look in his eyes. He ran his hands through his hair and kept both hands on the back of his neck interlaced as he impatiently paced waiting for Casey to establish the connection.

"Chuck, calm down. I've not seen you like this since Sarah went to Paris with Shaw and Morgan discovered Shaw faked the fight." Casey stated as he reached out to place his hand on Chuck's shoulder. Everyone was used to Chuck being a little high strung and having mild freak-outs, but this was at a much larger level. This level of freak-out was rare and it typically indicated something really, really wrong.

"Good morning team," Beckman not only sounded frustrated, but she also looked frustrated. "Is there a reason that you're interrupting me as I'm headed out to entertain my special guest?"

"General, I know who Peace is working for. I know the mystery woman, in fact, we all do!" Chuck exclaimed. He was barely able to stand still.

Sarah stepped slightly forward because she knew Chuck was about to enter one of his great babbling spirals. She wanted to head it off, and she desperately wanted to continue talking to Benetti.

"Ma'am, Benetti just informed us that the ladies name is Mia Profitt." Sarah smiled at Chuck. He didn't smile back. He gave her an annoyed look that communicated that he wasn't happy with her hijacking the conversation.

"Very well, you've my permission to search for this woman," Beckman was reaching for the cutoff switch.

"Stop!" Chuck yelled. It wasn't that he raised his voice. He yelled. He shouted loud enough and forceful enough that both Casey and Sarah recoiled and Beckman froze mid-reach.

"Thank you," he said to the screen. He turned and looked at Sarah, "I got this!" Normally, it was her, who had 'eyes that burned with fire', and looked crazed when he did something she didn't appreciate as a spy. That morning, it was him that had that very same look.

"Ma'am, Mia Profitt…," Chuck paused and moved his head slightly to see Sarah glaring with her own fire. "…Is a cover name I created while at Stanford. I created her when I created Charles Carmichael. Until this morning, I hadn't thought of the cover since the infamous Bryce and Jill incidents."

Sarah yanked on his sleeve. She didn't care about looking professional. This team hardly held to the standard measures of professional in interaction but had a record of professional success longer than any team on record. In fact, being unprofessional was so normal, that the General was not surprised or annoyed.

"What are you saying, you created that cover? Why did you create it? When did you create it? Answer me!" Sarah was already agitated from not being told why the conference had to take place; being yelled at for helping, chastised, and now learning Chuck still had secrets from her.

"I would answer your questions if you would slow down, and don't be offended because I forgot to tell you something about my past. I'm sure we will discover more about yours that you've not thought about in years, or you remember but haven't built the courage up to tell me about. Does Peace ring any bells?"

Sarah pulled her arm back like she was burned, gave a huff, and crossed her arms in a pout. Casey gave a simple grunt of amusement and thought to himself that Chuck was finally starting to hold his own as an equal in the team and their marriage. Sarah gave both men a cold glare, thinking that Casey and Chuck were going to pay for their brotherhood of men sticking togetherness.

"One night, Jill, Bryce, and myself were drinking and playing around."

Sarah growled at the mention of Jill.

"Do I make a noise every time your ex is mentioned?"

"My ex didn't work for a bunch of terrorists."

"No, he got me kicked out of school, slept with my ex, joined forces with the so-called-good-guys and used mind manipulations on you, cheated on you, sent me government secrets, later tried to manipulate us both, and finally got himself killed trying to be the ultimate hero in some narcissistic dream. In fact, in all the years I knew Bryce he only did two things right by either of us. First, he exposed Jill for the traitor she is at heart, and he opened the door that brought us together."

Casey grunted and smiled. That was twice in a matter of minutes that Chuck had manned up and took control of the situation. He didn't know where this more assertive Chuck was coming from, but he liked him. For Chuck's part, he'd had enough after the Peace incident. He saved his marriage, but deep down he was done being the pushover in most of his relationships. He would still be gentle and Sarah would get her way almost all the time, but when he wanted he would speak his mind from this point forward. Later in life, it would be one of the things their grandchildren remembered about them.

"Fine, I'll just stay over and be the quiet little wife, for now." Sarah continued to pout, but some of the fire was gone. Her eyes still smoldered, but they were not raging. Chuck knew he had damage control to perform, but right now everyone needed this information.

"We were all drinking and talking about the future. It was Bryce's idea to come up with aliases just in case we ever got rich and needed to avoid the media and crowds. Looking back now, I realize this was shortly after he was recruited. So we sat down and brainstormed and made aliases for each other. I created four aliases that I guess were eventually used. Two of them drove me insane when they were used in front of me. None of you noticed, but Bryce used them on purpose and made sure I remembered creating them by making eye contact."

"Agent Bartowski, can you please speed this up. We get it. You and Bryce had issues, but we're fighting a war here and we don't even know the prize." Beckman looked less annoyed than she sounded.

"That night I created Charles Carmichael for myself, Tom Anderson for Bryce, Eva Anderson for whoever Bryce decided to have a relationship with later in life, and Mia Profitt…"

"For Jill!" Sarah finished. Her fire ultimately died when she heard he created Eva Anderson.

"Correct. Ma'am, Jill Roberts is our mystery woman." Chuck announced.

"Thank you, Chuck. I must really go now." With that, Beckman ended the feed.

Casey turned and looked at Chuck, "Good job. Now, let's go get some more information from Benetti."

"Chuck, I noticed."

"Yeah, you did and you smiled about it and you certainly didn't look unhappy or hurt by the situation."

"How dare you?" Sarah glared at him.

"Don't try to make the past more towards me than it was just because of where we ended up. You might've fallen for me between a ballerina and a bomb, but you didn't get him out of your system until much later. That mission might've been the start of that removal, but it wasn't when he rubbed those aliases in my face. I'm not hurt anymore unless you try to whitewash the facts."

"Oh, and you were Mr. Perfect back then."

"Nope. I was a scared brat who hurt you twice with my words, and I'll never deny my part in hindering our relationship. I was selfish and worried about myself and was jealous of Bryce. I hate that he died, but I don't exactly miss him, and knowing what I know now, I certainly don't wish he was still around."

"That's cold, Chuck."

"Sarah, you and others keep me on a nice guy pedestal and I try to stay there. But I've got some deep-seated feelings and I promised myself recently I would always attempt to act in the best interest of others, but I'm also going to speak my heart when the opportunity doesn't destroy our goals. I know you love, and I hope you know I love you, but let's stop pretending that Bryce was cancer for each us, our growing relationship, and in general almost everyone around him."

Sarah just stared at him stunned. She'd never heard Chuck speak in such a matter of fact voice. It was like he was stating facts about someone else's life, not theirs. Around the corner, both Casey and Carina were listening. Carina had put it off long enough. "Casey, watch our friend."

Carina stepped into the hallway and grabbed Chuck by the arm. She then marched him back to Sarah and took her by the arm as well. She then marched them both to a couch.

"Sit!" She pointed to the seats. "I said sit, now!"

Both Chuck and Sarah took a seat, and Carina let loose.

"You two are going to get us all killed. You need to stop fighting. You fought your feelings and nearly lost each other. You fought over each step of the relationship growth, and before you ask, everyone has told me. Everybody talks to me, but no one listens. You fought after you got married about Chuck being too much of a spy, or about how to operate the business. Chuck kept acting out on emotions, and you kept trying to keep secrets. Then you fought over how to go about getting your memories and relationship back. Oh, it wasn't a verbal fight, it was this same snippy I'm going to do what's best despite your input and desires crap. Now, we're beginning to make progress, and it's the same adolescent crap. See how tough I am emotionally garbage is spewing from both of you. You're hurting each other, you're driving Casey and myself crazy, and you're stalling our mission. Knock it off."

Carina took a breath and then held up her finger for silence when Chuck started to speak.

"No, you talked enough. Sarah, you're a SAIC now. Act like it, and stop acting like a hormonal, pregnant wife. Chuck, if you really want to man up, stop drudging up the past, unless it has a positive effect on our knowledge base or mission direction. Finally, both of you stop acting like spoiled brats when the past has to be addressed. Got it?"

Carina then walked off. She paused momentarily as she spoke over her shoulder, "Move it! We got information to get from a willing canary."

Carina watched them as they looked at each other and she saw what was about to happen. She rolled her eyes and spoke, "Don't you dare begin to argue over who is sorrier. You're both pathetic and apologetic equally, not get up and get back here."

The spy couple walked toward the room. Chuck grabbed Sarah's arm before she entered. He looked into her eyes and leaned in and kissed her. Then he pulled back while still hugging her and whispered in her ear, "I love you." She whispered back, "I love you, too."

"Ok, now that the gang is all here, let's hear your story," Casey looked at Benetti as he spoke.

"My name is Joseph Benetti. It is not a cover name. I'm a rogue CIA agent sentenced to prison and a recent escapee with another man known as the Ring Director. Operatives for the collective known as the Syndicate contacted us both. We aren't foot soldiers, but we're to head up teams to target particular groups and a very specific objective: your team. At the time, I didn't know the team members. Mia sent me a picture of each of you, well you three." Benetti pointed at the original Team Bartowski. "When I saw a young woman who resembled an old Mark with whom I became compromised, I set out to discover more about the team. I learned that you were my little Sam, and I decided to work against the Syndicate."

"What does the syndicate want?" Carina asked. Chuck and Sarah were sitting close by but were not going to take an active role. Sarah would be allowed to ask her personal questions later, but Casey wanted the information about the operation against them first.

"It's different for each strike leader, but we all have one common enemy: Operation Omaha or those associated with the operation."

"Ok, give us the list and their targets." Casey tapped the table as he talked.

"I don't know all the players, but here are the ones I do know. Richardson wants Beckman for court-martialing his sister and ruining her life. The Director wants Casey for capturing him. Mia wants Sam because she stole Chuck away? Recently recruited Don Pablo wants Miller for a bust in 2006, and I want to stop any future human testing of the Intersect program."

"What do you mean by wants, just so we're all clear here," Carina asked.

"Dead, they want each of you dead. Everyone but Chuck, evidently the biochemist has plans to use some new drugs she is developing to enslave him and use his unique talents to help her run things."

"And by unique talents?" Casey asked.

"The Intersect," Benetti stated as a matter of fact.

"Do you know what they're planning?"

"Yes. Mia is preparing to release dirty chemical bombs in strategic cities if the team, to include Beckman, is not turned over to her and the Syndicate. She wants Chuck to witness the death of each member, with you Sam as the last one. She plans to have Chuck carry out each execution, and for you Sam, she wants him to declare his love for her before he kills you."

"Which cities?" Carina asked while sliding Benetti a map.

"Chicago, San Diego, Des Moines, and DC."

"Why those cities?" Chuck finally spoke up.

"That is where your families live. Chuck's sister, Carina's mom and Sam's dad, Casey's mother, and well the last city is the capital."

"How will they deliver the chemicals?" Casey's mind was working full speed.

"Short range missiles with air burst capability."

"From where?"

"I don't know."


	19. I've Seen That Look Before

**AN: Usual Excuses: Work, family, holidays, writer's block, changed directions, changed back. **

**Not killing Benetti changed many things from the original plan. Like those of you who reviewed that chapter (thank you by the way) I couldn't do it. So it made me have to have two setup chapters for the take down arc. Hope you enjoy, the spy action picks up in the coming chapters.**

**As always: I don't own Chuck or Star Wars.**

Chapter 19 –I've Seen That Look Before

Chuck smiled at her as she stared out the window. She was lost in thought, and he dared not disturb her daydreams. He simply wondered what she was thinking about, so he smiled whenever they made eye contact. She smiled back and he felt himself slip deeper in his feelings for her. For her part, she had her mind on the mixed up triangle that was Chuck, Sarah, and herself.

"How much longer do I need to keep playing this game?" Chuck finally broke the silence.

"Just a little longer, lover." She smiled at him. They had been at this game for years.

Chuck looked at her and smiled, "You know when Fulcrum first gave us our scholarships I would've never guessed it would lead here."

"I know. You had to play the pathetic role of lesser man to that pompous peacock Bryce Larkin, just to win his confidence. Yet, you worked him into shielding you from the CIA, and also believing you could handle the Intersect."

"For real. Returning to the Buy More and dropping off the scene was almost the worst. Yet, it was worth it when you came to me and we went off the grid to plan."

"And what a plan you had, baby. You got Walker to lead you to your dad, freed us from Fulcrum, helped me escape, and then got the latest versions of the Intersect, but not for you and your mother took out the obstacle of Alexi Volkoff."

"Yeah, but I never so the delay that would be Daniel Shaw or that I'd actually have to marry Walker. One thing I can be glad about, you and my sister sure put together a mind package on her by planting those memories that her baby is mine and not Quinn's spawn."

"Don't worry, she will not live long enough to have that baby." She smiled seductively at him.

He got up and crossed to her desk. He kissed her deeply and she could feel the passion that grew within. She reached for the top button of his shirt just as….

The phone rang and pulled Jill, now Mia, from her thoughts. She had been dreaming about how it should've been if she had only recognized Chuck as the one. Instead, she chose Larkin and lost Chuck to that…. The phone kept ringing.

"Hello!" She practically hissed as she answered the phone. "What do you want?"

"We were able to confirm that the missiles were never removed, only the warheads."

"Excellent. Let me inform the council and we'll move to our final phase before forcing our enemies to submit to our will. The toxins will be ready in another month, two at the latest. Get with Richardson and have him secure the missiles and have a team make sure their still launch ready."

"We're going to need a control system. I know they removed the old one from the site."

"Just secure the location. I will be back there soon."

She hung up the phone and returned to her thoughts, thinking Chuck would soon be hers. He will be hers in a tropical paradise.

-o-

"Um, Chuck, Sarah, we may have a problem," Morgan stated as he burst into the apartment.

"What's that someone forget to feed and water you?" Casey laughed.

Morgan just glared at him for a moment, and then continued his grand announcement. "Sarah, your mom is outside. I guess she stopped by your house and then came over here looking for you. She has Molly with her."

"Emma? Emma's here?" Benetti looked over at Morgan. Instantly everyone could see his eyes glaze over in remembrance of a life long ago.

"Easy there lover boy," Casey grunted out as he pulled Sarah into the hallway.

Sarah simply glared at him. "What?" She didn't appreciate his comments about her mother.

"Look, you need to get rid of your mother. We don't need her and Benetti mixing up right now."

"Casey, don't tell me how to deal with my mother. I'm fully aware that this isn't a good time. I'm a spy, remember?"

"Are you? Sometimes I have a hard time seeing it. When it comes to family, you don't always choose the spy path."

"John, lighten up," Chuck speaks up in Sarah's defense as he steps into the hallway.

"Don't start! You're the reason she's had a hard time keeping her edge."

"What's that supposed to mean? I've always chosen the right path," Sarah grabbed his shoulder and spun him to face her.

"Unless it comes to the moron or your family."

"Casey, I'll do what I must, to save them. You must understand that they are and will always be my first priority. I will not let the CIA continue to rob us of all that we might have in the future. Yet, with that said, I'll never allow my feelings for them to jeopardize a mission when they are not in direct risk."

"Come on, Casey let her go. She needs to get out there and see her mother." Chuck pulls him back from Sarah.

"Alright. Can this day get any worse?"

Just then Chuck's phone rings. He looks down and sees the caller ID. It's Ellie calling. He holds up his phone so his partners can see the screen, "It's Ellie," Chuck states as he moves away from the other two.

"Go on, Bartowski. Get out there and talk to your mother." Casey juts his chin forward in a get moving gesture.

Sarah sighs and turns to walk out. As she leaves, she glances over her shoulder at Chuck and notices his face is filled with concern. She will need to find out what he and Ellie talked about as soon as her mother is redirected.

"Mom!" Sarah called out as she stepped out of Casey's apartment.

"Hey, Sa..rah!" Her mom still wanted to call her Samantha. She genuinely missed her little girl.

"What are you doing here?" Sarah asked as she tilted her head to the side and stopped her mother's progress to their old apartment.

"I was coming to see you. It tried to go to the new place, but you weren't home, so I thought I would come by here and see if you were here. I was kind of worried about you after the explosion, and I sat for a few days trying to see if you'd contact me, but I just couldn't wait anymore." Emma was speed talking now, and Sarah could see the pain and worry in her eyes.

"Oh, mom. I'm so sorry," Sarah pulled her mom into a hug as she spoke into her ear. "I didn't think about how you would feel knowing the building I worked in was a part of the gas line explosion. I'm so used to us having to remain in a non-contact mode that I just didn't think."

"It's ok, honey. I was just a worried mother. Is everyone ok? Is Chuck ok? Of course he is. Otherwise you would be in bad shape, but look at you, you're so happy."

"I am. Chuck and I are in a good place, and our little one is growing. Mom, do you think that Chuck and I could stop by tomorrow? We're kind of on a big project right now, and I need to devote the rest of my day to that."

Emma smiled at her daughter. "Of course, honey. How about I make you two kids a nice dinner and you can bring your teammates as well. I don't hold you up from any of your business dealings, just… please, be careful. I love you and I love having you back, and I don't want to lose you."

"I promise, I'll be careful, but I do need to get back inside."

"Ok, dear. Call me if your project hits a delay and you can't make it tomorrow."

Sarah hugged her mother with tears floating in her eyes. "I will, I promise."

Sarah stood by the fountain as she walked her mother walk away. Taking a deep breath, she turned and went back inside. As she entered, she heard Chuck ending his call with Ellie.

"Ok. Yes, sis, I'll let everyone know… I love you, too… Bye." Chuck tucked his phone back in his jeans pockets and looked at Sarah and Casey. Both of his partners were staring at him and waiting.

"Well, spit it out, we don't have all day," Casey demanded.

Chuck rubbed his hands on his face, and then his eyes, and finally his temples before he opened his eyes and looked at them one more time. He opened his mouth, and then closed it. Next, he shook his head and finally found his voice, "Geez, I don't even know where to begin on this one, or how to feel about it."

"Chuck, what is it?" Sarah looked like she was really getting worried about her husband, but more importantly her sister-in-law's family.

"It would seem that the government grant that allowed the hospital in Chicago to hire Devon and Ellie has been withdrawn and granted to Westside here in LA."

"And?" Sarah knew there was more.

"And…. It seems that Devon and Ellie will be back in a week, two tops."

"What? We're using their old place as our base of operations."

"Got it!" Chuck spun around. "Casey, how long did it take the company to rebuild the Buy More?"

"It took over six months. You know that because Sarah and I were out saving the world while you and the troll were public transporting yourselves into debt trying to locate your mother."

"Ok, and this took out more area and collapsed Castle as well. So what are we looking at, nine months, or possibly a year?"

"Sounds about right," Casey said with a curious look on his face.

"Chuck, what's running through your mind?" Sarah stepped up and placed her arms around his waist.

"He's thinking that if your mom, his sister, and others who are non-company personnel keep stopping by you can't use this as a base of operations, and it's not really pragmatically defensible," Benetti stated as he emerged from the holding room with Carina as an escort.

"He's right," Chuck started to say and then turned to Carina, "Wait… Why's he not in a lockdown position?"

"He's got to use the bathroom, and I'm not taking him so it's either John or you." Carina smiled sweetly or was it sarcastically?

"Rock, paper, scissors?" Chuck asked Casey.

"My hands, your neck, snap?" Casey responded.

"Man, where's Morgan? Come on let's go." Chuck grabbed Benetti's arm and lead him towards the bathroom and away from the others.

"Chuck's right. We need a place to have a new base." Carina looked at Casey and Sarah. Each looked at her like she was slightly off base. "You know what, I can't believe either of you. He has consistently proven himself, comes up with amazing ideas, and you still treat him like a rookie. Will he always be your asset?"

"Carina, you don't understand, it's my job to protect and take care of him. First, it was as an asset, but now even more as my husband. I can't lose him. He has this childlike wonder, and sometimes it get's him in trouble. I guess I'm just over protective."

"I can see that from you, but what about you Johnny?"

"Just over two months ago, he wouldn't take the shot to stop Quinn. Instead, he fired a warning shot in the air and shot down my helicopter."

"That's because Chuck's not a killer," Sarah defended her husband.

"He may not be, but he also makes poor choices sometimes, and he can get an idea in his head and run with it the point of getting into serious trouble. Take for instance his being captured by Cummings just before Christmas."

"Right!" Sarah agreed with that assessment.

"So, it's not like any of us haven't made poor choices. Casey, you stole the tic-tac. Sarah, you put on those freaking glasses knowing they were faulty. Not to mention how many times each of us has done something rash, like stealing the diamond and hoping on a jet ski. I just think that one of these days he's going to catch your looks, and it's going to hurt him in a way that neither of you wants. Have you ever considered he's still trying to prove himself worthy? Just think about it before he lets another super agent talk him into taking a plane ride with a set of nunchucks and an attractive brunette." Caring knew the last comments would sting, but she wanted them to see what she saw.

With her work done she strolled over to the couch and took a seat. Sarah and Casey looked at each other for a few minutes before deciding to join Carina in the living room.

Sarah decided to break the silence, "I guess it's just hard. I don't want to see him get hurt or to change too much. I never thought that by trying to protect him, I might be motivating him taking some of the dumb risks he takes."

Casey simply grunted and nodded his head.

"Ok. Benetti's used the restroom, and now we got to decide where we are going to operate, and we've only got two weeks at most. Plus, we need to brief Beckman on Jill's plan."

Casey gave a grunt and decided to attempt to raise Beckman on the "horn." It took a few minutes but eventually she came on the screen. The image was grainy and looked like she might be using a lower quality camera than her normal connection in her office. Over her shoulder, they could see the image of a worked over Peace tied to a chair.

"Alright, team, what do you want?" Everyone turned to Chuck. "Well, it looks like you're the elected spokesman Mr. Bartowski."

"Uhm, General. We've extracted… well, you know what… extracted isn't the right word. Benetti freely gave us Jill Roberts as one the leaders. Then after calling that in, he volunteered that they want to launch missiles armed with a biological agent at Chicago, San Diego, Des Moines, and DC because we each have family there, but he doesn't know the location of the missile site."

"I can see the urgency in this matter. Do we have a timeframe?"

"Um, no ma'am. With Castle down, and no true base of operations that we can leave up and running, can I request that we put out facial recognition flags on Roberts and Richardson?"

"Consider it done. Is there anything else, Chuck?"

"Yes, ma'am. Ellie and Devon are moving back to LA due to their medical research grant, that allowed the hospital to hire them, being removed. They will be back here in two weeks, and we will lose this apartment as a temporary base."

"Well, we can't have you or Sarah working out of any intelligence office in the region due to your special skills. Do any of you have an idea of how to work around this issue?"

Sarah sat there for a few moments before she leaned forward and looked directly into the screen. "Ma'am, before I… before the Quinn incident, Chuck and I were talking about moving Carmichael Industries above ground, and we were going to purchase a building where we put a cyber security business on the upper levels and secure bunker style area, like Castle, under the building. I could pursue some of those buildings if the are still available."

"I will notify the comptroller of your pending financial requests. Sarah, get us a good deal for Carmichael Industries new front. Beckman, out."

"Chuck, honey, take me building shopping."

"Really? Building shopping?"

"Mhmm," Sarah hummed out as she nodded with a small smile.

"Very well, team. Happy hunting. Beckman out."

-0-

"Now Mr. Peace, where we're we?" Beckman turned back to the tied up man with a smile.

Her chief of staff was a huge Star Wars fan and he got the same feeling watching Beckman interrogate as he got watching the scene when Yoda was finally unleashed on the big screen. Everyone heard about it, imagined it, but witnessing it was a whole different level. Beckman operated with a smoothness that was uncanny. They way she picked up on subtle changes and small voice inflections. It was truly a gift.

"Mr. Peace, I sense you'd like to live to a ripe old age and I can ensure you have the chance, or I can set up an agency red test with you as the target. I'm sure there are plenty of young graduates ready to take full agent status. So tell me all you know about what Ms. Profit and Mr. Richardson have planned."

Peace bowed his knowing that he had been beaten, and he laid his information at the general's feet. Turning to her COS, she ordered him to establish a connection with her A-team and to brief them on the new information.

"General, I've got Colonel Casey and Agents Bartowski on the line."

Beckman stepped in front of the camera once more. She took in the scene before and noticed everyone seemed a little tense. Instantly she knew Chuck was pushing something. How many times had she seen this since these three started working together? Casey was annoyed because whatever it was rested between doing what's right for someone and what is traditionally accepted as the best course of action for the nation. Whatever it was, it was personal to Sarah or at least it enhanced the greatness of Chuck's caring and that gave her the assurance she needed that someone could love as deep as she desired to be loved. That was important to someone with as many parental issues as Sarah still held in her heart and probably always would. Finally, there was Chuck with his eyes betraying his calm demeanor. They danced with the nervous energy he held when he wanted to attempt something usually unorthodox, but in the end right, that would possibly make all of them crazy and could lead to the death of their careers or lives.

"Team, Peace revealed that Roberts is attempting to divide and isolate your team. Fisher was meant to come between Sarah and Chuck, but when that failed day one; he decided to attempt the split by seducing Carina into betraying you three. Furthermore, Roberts is seeking to capture Chuck, not as the Intersect, but as her lover by using the Intersect to pull a Volkoff. She wants all of you to be without your parents, and people you love. She wants you to have to run like she has had to do over the years."

"Ok, but where does Richardson fit in?" Chuck asked. He glanced at Sarah, who seemed to be in deep thought.

Sarah for her part stood there thinking about the numerous ways she could kill Jill for wanting to taker her Chuck from her. Her personal favorite was…

"Sarah? Agent Walker!" Beckman called out and when Sarah shot glaring eyes at her she continued, "Great, now that I've got your attention Agent Bartowski, I was saying that Richardson has financially backed a few political leaders here in DC that are loyal to his interest, and together they plan to overthrow the government. Now, what were you smiling about, Sarah?"

Sarah gave an embarrassed look, "Uh… I was just thinking about the end of the mission when we bring these guys down and save the world once again."

"Very Good. Beckman…"

"Wait! General, I was just talking with Sarah and Casey," Chuck started and then paused when Casey let a grunt escape. Beckman held her breath as she knew she was about to find out why his eyes were dancing. This one must be big as Sarah started inspecting her nails. "Yes, well I thought that you know, that in light of his cooperation and his returning to the light side… I mean the good guys… you know, the good guys being us… that perhaps Benetticouldbemaybeaddedtotheteamasanassestwhocouldbefreewhenthemissionisover?"

The general had a hard time tracking the last part. He was rambling and then he said the last part so fast all the words ran together. So she asked in spite of her herself, "What did you just say? Slow down and repeat yourself."

Taking a deep breath, Chuck said, "Perhaps Benetti could be added to the team as an asset who could be free and when the mission is over he could be set free?"

Beckman stood there thinking. "Very well. If he continues to provide useful services to your team, and if those services lead to the take down of this coup then I'll see what I can do about getting him freed. Sarah, considering your condition you'll operate as his handler with Miller as co-handler. With her cover as your sister, it'll make sense for her to stay close to Benetti when you get far along, provided we can't end this sooner. Beckman, out."


	20. The New Carmichael Industries

**AN: The end of Semesters in a high school are always busy for teachers and principals, and when the kids come home from college it always means your time off plans to write more go out the window. So this took longer than I wanted. Plus, I couldn't decide on the decorations. I wrote one version with Marvel decorations, and then DC, and finally settled on what you will find below. Who knew you could spend about 8 hours researching.**

**Anyways, I don't own any Chuck characters, or any of the other referenced works in this chapter. I've never been to a Comic Con but I've got a feeling this chapter would be right at home.**

Chapter 20 – The New Carmichael Industries

Sarah was seated at her desk looking out into the "war room" of Carmichael Industries. The past few months had been both frustrating and exhilarating. She thought about those first few weeks when Chuck and her searched buildings around the greater Los Angeles area looking for their new headquarters.

"Chuck, we've looked at several buildings and we still don't have our eye on one. It's getting hot outside, let's go home and we can look again tomorrow. Now, turn up the AC, I'm burning up."

Chuck merely gave her a look that said, "You got to be kidding me." She wasn't even really showing. Yet, she was already complaining about the heat, and her clothes and she was always hungry.

It was the time of day when they wanted to avoid the 5, so they were head towards the 101 and home. As they traveled down Magnolia Blvd, Sarah called out, "Oh, look over there."

Chuck snapped his head trying to figure out what she was pointing at, "Pull over, Chuck. Look it's a restaurant called Healthy Bites. I'm starving, baby, and your little one is so craving Greek food."

"Are you sure it's not just my big one craving food?" Instantly he knew he'd made a mistake. Sarah became quiet and turned to look at the window. "Oh come on, baby. You know what I meant."

"I'm getting fat?" Sarah stayed turned to the window with her head down so Chuck could not see her smile. If she held this a little longer, he would start one of his rambling apologies, and if she kept it even longer, he would be making it up to her all evening.

"No, No! Of course not, you're not fat, you're beautiful…" Chuck was cut off by a huff from Sarah and then she asked him another question, "So people with extra weight can't be beautiful?"

"No… I mean yes, yes they can… I meant no that is not what I was saying, I was saying you're beautiful because you're pregnant…"

"So I wasn't beautiful before?"

"Yes, you were… look, stop. You're beautiful no matter your weight, and this weight is, even more, beautiful because it represents our baby. When I said my big one I was implying a grown adult woman, not a tiny infant in the womb."

"Chuck, I know! You're too easy to get wound up sometimes. It's one of the reasons I love you." Sarah turned and smiled his smile, and suddenly in Chuck's mind, all the rain ended in the world and the full power of the sun shone within their vehicle.

"Ok. So here we are, just let me park and we'll go inside and get something to eat."

As they were getting out, Chuck opened Sarah's door and looked across the street. There before him was the new home of Carmichael Industries. It was a three-story building with a two-story wall and security gate at the entrance.

"Sarah, what do you think about that building across the street?"

"It looks nice, and with the large lot, we could have an underground system installed. We could do our Carmichael Industries security consults and contracts above ground, and use "The Lair" as our base of operations for clandestine work. Chuck, do you want me to contact Beckman?"

"Not yet. I want Casey to get a look at the building. Let's get our food, and we can call him and the realtor to come meet us after we eat."

"Sound good. Chuck, I'm so excited, not only about this building but about everything." In her head, she added that this would keep Chuck busy while they searched for leads.

After dinner, they held the meeting with Casey and the realtor. Casey loved the building, but he gave one of the usual grunts on hearing the underground complex being called "The Lair." He even snarked, "Bet that was the nerd's idea."

"Nope, it was mine." Sarah defended her man.

"I didn't know you had a nerd in you." Casey retorted.

"Uhm, you would think it was a little obvious since I'm pregnant." Sarah deadpanned and both Chuck and the realtor nearly choked on the water they were drinking. Casey blushed a dark red and walked into another area.

Beckman agreed with Sarah's plans for the building and construction was under way with Carmichael Industries having sole discretion to every level's layout, but only footing the bill for the top two levels. Of course, Sarah put her Harvard degree to work and drafted the rental agreement with the government for the underground space so that the monthly overhead to their private business was one-quarter of what it would be to any other building owners.

Now she sat at her desk, looking through her large floor to ceiling wall that opened into the main lobby area enjoying their new space. Three months had passed and she was now showing to everyone, not just those who knew to look for the growing baby bump. She decided to take a walk around one more time to make sure everything was ready for their "official grand opening" tomorrow.

She walked through her adjoining door into Chuck's office. "Baby, you want to walk with me and make sure everything is ready?"

"Sure, honey. Let me set the security system to run one more diagnostic to ensure there are no glitches. There, let's go."

Chuck and Sarah walked around the top floor that contained one other office for John Casey, Operations Director. His office was identical to Chuck's and Sarah's. The furniture was a deep mahogany and it contained a list of his non-classified accomplishments and pictures of the team and family. Sarah had Reagan quotes on the three interior walls that didn't include the large floor to ceiling window. In Chuck's office, she had a list of his accomplishments, pictures of the team and family, and directly behind his desk two "Missile Command" game consoles with floating shelves between them for books. On his door, she had Charles Carmichael, President, and CEO. Her office reflected her accomplishments and holds two unique pieces of furniture, a crib and a small play area for her baby.

Perhaps the most interesting item on the top floor is the conference room. It has a gunmetal colored conference table with embedded iPads and black leather chairs at each station. However, what makes this place unique is the pictures on the wall. Sarah selected the pictures after an idea came to her while unpacking a box of Chuck's books at their home. The box contained numerous Star Wars books and guides. As she perused the books the idea hit her to select or to commission artwork to represent their team, friends and enemies through the years. Each framed piece of work has a small brass plaque that indicates who the picture represents. The family and current team were on the back wall facing the entrance. The wall to the right held their friends and close associates, and the wall on the left represented their prominent enemies both long known and recently discovered.

There is a picture of Luke Skywalker for Chuck despite his infinity for Han Solo, and Sarah had to select Mara Jade Skywalker for herself. Before their marriage love and marriage was forbidden among Jedi Knights and she couldn't resist the similarity. Needless to say, the pictures did not follow any timeline or appearance requirements, but rather a personal gut feeling for whom they would represent.

She selected Obi Won Kenobi for Casey, especially since he kind of mentored Chuck and was always in his head. Sarah picked Leia for Ellie, and of course, that meant Chuck lost Han Solo to Devon. Finally, on the current team wall was a picture of Chewbacca for Morgan, and a picture of his little-known wife, Mallatobuck, for Alex.

The friend wall contained just a few pictures. Owen and Beru Lars were selected to represent Chuck's mom and dad. When Chuck asked about her parents, she shot down the idea, and he knew better than to push the subject. Mon Mothma was selected to represent General Beckman. Sarah chose Zartra Vyska for her friend Zondra, and Mira for Carina.

The enemy wall was filled with an assortment of Sith. Due to his treacherous dealing behind the scenes, Sarah placed both Langston Graham and Bryce Larkin on this wall as Emperor Palpatine and Darth Maul respectively. She selected Darth Malus for Quinn because he was filled with malice. Sarah picked Darth Plagueis for Ted Roark due to his business ties. Finally, she chose Darth Zannah for Jill Roberts, the first female under the "rule of two" and Darth Venamus for Richardson. Except the last two, each villain had a red "x" after the name, and she hoped to add an "x" to those real soon.

On the ground floor, there are a lobby and offices for the other team members. Morgan as logistics, Alex as the criminal justice specialist, and finally, Carina as security all have offices on this floor. Underground is a duplicate of "Castle" complete with cells, and several one-bed rooms for the team. Benetti already occupies one of these rooms as his temporary living quarters.

Satisfied with the overview they were about to exit "The Lair" when one of the monitors beeped indicating a hit on one of the search programs Chuck was running. Immediately his phone signaled a new text message to alert him of the hit. He walked over to the computer and entered his credentials. He looked over the report and then turned to Sarah, "Alert the team, we've got a lead. As soon as they arrive we'll notify Beckman."

-0-

Carina, Casey, Alex, and Morgan had just taken a seat in a corner booth inside Red Robin's. Over the last few months, while the team prepared to transition to the new facility, Casey had begun to reach out to the other team members. In fact, he recently, although reluctantly, gave his blessing to Morgan and Alex continuing their relationship and seeing where it might end. Most surprising was the amount of time being spent with Carina. They were not romantically involved, but they were near inseparable. Little did Casey realize that Carina needed this connection after the Fisher incident. She was becoming more contemplative of her future and she had a growing seed of desire for companionship. Carina didn't know if she was ready to be in love like Sarah, but she definitely enjoyed having a close friend like Casey. The biggest plus was she could be herself without any sexual pressures. True, she typically initiated the awkwardness but it was more a defense mechanism to keep people from getting too close or her getting hurt.

Just as the waitress walked up to take their order, their phones all beeped with a group message from Sarah.

"I'm sorry, but we just got a call from work and we need to be there in the hour. Is there any possibility we can get our order to go?" Carina asked the young lady while Casey called Sarah.

Morgan asked, "Should we get Chuck and Sarah something as well?"

"Sure." Carina pulled out the menu and began looking it over.

It didn't take long for them to order. Morgan ordered the Chili Chili Cheeseburger, Alex ordered the Burning Love Burger, and Casey ordered the A.1 Peppercorn. Carina got the classic Bacon Cheeseburger, and she ordered the Whiskey River for Chuck and the Gourmet Cheeseburger for Sarah since it came with extra pickles and pickle relish.

"Hey guys, we got you something nice to eat!" Carina called out as they entered the new base of operations.

"What is it?" Chuck called out as he entered the conference room.

Alex sang out, "Red…. Robin" as Sarah walked in to meet the team.

"Yumm," she half-hummed, half-spoke. When Chuck and Morgan started laughing her brows furrowed, "What, it sounds great?"

"Really?" Chuck cocked his head to the side as it dawned on him that Sarah was unaware of the joke she just played out.

"Really, what?" Sarah looked as perplexed as Chuck.

"Yumm is the response they use in their advertisements when someone calls out Red… Robin," Chuck explained, but as he was finishing Casey walked down the steps and responded to the last thing he heard, "Yumm."

"I guess I'm really out of the loop if Casey gets a pop culture reference before me." Sarah looked a little sad.

"Don't feel bad, Sarah. If I weren't watching one of those documentaries on the History Channel the other night with Johnny, I wouldn't have known the reference either," Carina offered her comfort.

"Ok. Enough about my wife not getting the reference to some commercial, she's been a little busy heading up this project, and helping her mom spend some time with Benetti."

"Speaking of Benetti, where's he this fine evening?" Casey asked as he looked through the security monitors.

"We've not officially occupied the building yet, and all the security measures weren't completed until now, so he is still in Echo Park. My mother is keeping him company, and Chuck's mother is watching over everything from Ellie and Devon's place."

Casey started digging in the bag and opening the Styrofoam containers, "Well let's eat and wonder boy can share this big lead. Do we have anything stronger than Coke in the fridge?"

Morgan started nodding his head, "Yeah, I placed a few domestics in there for after missions."

"Well does anyone see us heading out tonight, or getting into a heavy planning session?" Casey looked around and no one responded. "Alright then get me one, Carina one, Chuck and Sarah a can of soda, and whatever you want to drink and let's get this show on the road. What do you have for us, Chuck?"

"We got a hit on Jill. She was picked up on a phone tap when the person she was speaking to mentioned a broken arrow incident in the region of her inquiry."

"Chuck and I looked up the other end of her conversation and it looks like the person is a realtor in Conway, Arkansas."

Carina looked at her, "Why would anyone want to go to Arkansas. What I mean isn't just one of those fly over states?"

Morgan became really excited and hopped out of his seat, "I got this one! Broken Arrow is a John Travolta movie with that dude who played "Arkansas" Dave Rudabaugh in Young Guns 2. So maybe she's looking for him?"

Casey gave a massive grunt of disappointment while shaking his head. "You know for a moment, I thought you were going to actually say something that made sense."

"What? What's wrong with what I said?"

"Jill is not looking for Christian Slater!" Every head snapped, no one could believe Sarah just dropped the name of an actor of a movie role.

"He wasn't in that film!" Now all heads turned to stare at Carina. "What? I wasn't always a spy. I was a teenage girl once."

"Well, teenage girl trust me he was in that movie. It was the last movie my grandmother took me to before I left with my dad, and I had the biggest crush on Kiefer Sutherland. So I got the movie on VHS and watched it all the time until we had to leave it behind in a hotel. I lost bunny and Doc that day."

"Bunny?" Chuck asked while stroking her upper arm. She looked sad. Sarah shook her head, "Long story, I'll tell you tonight." Chuck nodded.

Morgan was more intrigued by the fact Sarah once owned a movie. "You bought a movie?"

"No, I got the movie."

"Right, you purchased…"

"No! I conned the clerk into giving me the movie," Sarah stated as she looked at the ground. Chuck just rubbed her back, knowing how much she hated certain aspects of her past as a con artist and as a spy.

Casey deciding to overlook the tension caused by Sarah's confession brought things back to focus with a little humor, "Well now that we know what story Chuck is being tucked into tonight when Sarah gives him his milk and cookies, maybe we can determine her location of interest."

"Thanks, Casey. Leave to you to take a tender moment between a husband and wife and make it seem, oh, I don't know? Dirty. Sarah is most definitely not my mother."

"Guys, a broken arrow is the term the military publically uses for a lost or damaged nuclear weapon. That much I do know from the movie my man referenced." Alex decided to defend Morgan.

"Right," Casey confirmed with a proud look. So we need to find out if there were any incidents in Arkansas.

Alex typed on the iPad embedded into her area of the table and found the answer in less than two seconds. "The second link on a Google search for Broken Arrow Incident Arkansas identifies that a Titan II missile exploded around Damascus, Arkansas in 1980."

Casey began typing on the iPad in front of him, and soon the wall monitor beeped and then showed the image of General Beckman. "Hello, team. What do you have for me?"

"General, we got a hit on a phone call concerning a broken arrow incident. The voice was identified as Roberts, and we traced the destination of the call to a realtor office in Conway, Arkansas. We searched for the incident on the Internet and got a hit for a Damascus, Arkansas in 1980. What can you tell us?" Sarah had assumed her role as station chief, and gave the concise run down.

"General Casey, you're free to disclose the details." Beckman went to cut the feed.

"Uh, ma'am, I wasn't on active duty then. I didn't get started until the late eighties during the Honduras missions."

"Very well, LRAFB374-7. Casey, in a moment either Sarah or Chuck, whichever recovers first can brief you guys. I'll get busy coordinating a Gulfstream to Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport." Beckman picked up her own tablet and began sending a message to one of her aides.

While Chuck and Sarah both sat in their chairs flashing, Casey continued his conversation, "Seriously, I thought the civilian airstrip was called Adams field? When did the name change?"

"Evidently it changed about 2 months ago in March." Beckman smiled, "Ok, your team leaves at 0900 tomorrow from Bob Hope International and will arrive at Clinton National just after lunch. I got three two SUV's rented for Rick and Carina Linderman. You are traveling with your daughter Alex, her fiancé Martin Gonzalez, and your business partners Steven and Emma Phillips. I'll have a safe house for you in Conway. I'll text the address. If there are no other questions." Without waiting for a response, she cut the feed, but not before everyone noticed the figure entering the room behind her.

"Chuck, was the Roan?" Sarah asked as she came out of her flash.

"Yeah, I think so, how about you guys?"

Carina nodded, "Yeah that was him."

"So Diane has a boyfriend?" Morgan asked and everyone else shivered.

"Ok, what did you two discover?" Casey brought the conversation back to the conference room, not Beckman's bedroom.

"Go ahead, Chuck." Sarah smiled at him. She loved giving him things to do and helping to build him up in front of others.

"Ok. In September 1980, an airman dropped a wrench while working on a missile. The wrench penetrated the skin and the fuel erupted the next morning around 3 am. The warhead was launched several hundred feet beyond the boundary but didn't detonate or leak. About six years later the missile command was relocated and the warheads removed. The silos and delivery systems remained. Site 374-7 was one of nine sites operated out of the Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville, Arkansas. The base records hold the grid coordinates for all the silos."

Sarah looked at Chuck and took over, "Jacksonville is about 12 miles from North East of Little Rock, but Conway is about a 90-minute drive from there, with Damascus being about 30 minutes from Conway."

"Well, if that's it, Morgan, give me a hand getting our equipment ready. Carina, go meet whomever Beckman sends to our drop location and pick up our new identities. Chuck and Sarah, you need to either get Benetti relocated here tonight or have Mama Bartowski assume control of him. Everyone has his or her assignment when your task is complete you're off. Get some rest team we leave early tomorrow. I'll see you all at the airport."


	21. Back to School

**AN: Between work and dissertation writing... yeah. Still working on the story, still not going to stop. We have a bit more to travel. I always saw the stories with publication dates and update dates so far apart and wondered how that happened... now I know. For those of you who have been entertaining us for years... thank you. For those still with me and reviewing, thank you as well. I don't respond to all of them as I probably should, but I read each one, and considered them as I write.**

**Normal Disclaimer: I am not the owner of any characters, locations, or anything else connected with Chuck, or other referenced works in this chapter. My wife did attend the college, and we both grew up just outside the air base. So this was my little shout out to home. **

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 21 - Back to School

That night as they lay in bed, Sarah's mind kept wondering over the past few months. Once, they received clearance from Beckman, Benetti was allowed to reestablish contact with her mother. True, he couldn't go out in public but at least, they could spend time together in Echo Park. She was happy for her mom and Molly. In fact, Sarah was happier than she could remember. Benetti had turned over the list of potential Omaha candidates. This list had included Sarah, Chuck, Jill, Bryce, Rick, Vicky, and a few others from various colleges around the country. What nagged at Sarah's mind was the fact that one of the un-recruited candidates was teaching as a professor at the University of Central Arkansas, mere minutes from the potential missile site.

"Chuck, are you awake?" Sarah gently nudged him.

"Hmmm"

"Chuck, can we talk?"

"Hmmm"

"Chuck, I'm serious sit up and talk to me." Sarah gave him a less than gentle shake.

"Ok, ok. What's up?"

"What if the missile thing is a ruse?"

"Why would it be a ruse?"

"I'm just not sure. Everything, since this junk started, has centered on the Omaha project. We learned about the strikes months ago, and we just learned about the missile location recently. That doesn't make sense."

"What doesn't make since…. Wait, you're right, it doesn't make sense." Chuck sat up in bed and put his back to the headboard.

"Right! Why've they waited so long to attack? They could've struck months ago." Sarah joined him sitting up.

"So what is going through that beautiful mind? Do you think this is a trap?" Chuck put his arm around her and drew her close.

Sarah took the time to snuggle into Chuck before answering, "I do. It seems odd that they would use old missiles. I think something else is happening. We know that in that region is a potential Human Intersect. I just don't know what that means. I think we need to be very careful."

"I understand. Sarah, have you explored the Intersect? I mean really studied it's data capabilities?"

"I'm not sure what you mean?"

"You realize that we can use the information in one flash to dig out more information. It's not comfortable and I've only done it a few times. However, it could really come in handy."

"Chuck, what if we used ours in series? You know I flash and communicate, and you flash on my flash? This way we each can recover before we tap another source."

"It's worth a try. Do you want to flash on something we already know just to see how it works?" Chuck's eyes had taken on a definite glow as his core nerd was running faster than an overclocked processor.

"You're so cute when you get all child-like excited. Ok, here goes… Cole Barker."

Chuck immediately flashed on Cole's service record and various operations in North Korea, Russia, and the United States.

"Cole Barker is a member of MI-6 counterterrorism detail. Assigned to infiltrate Fulcrum as a cover for an Operation Assistance." Chuck recited.

Sarah flashed on Operation Assistance.

"Operation Assistance is a joint NSA and MI-6 operation to determine the level of compromise of CIA operative assigned to the lead task force fighting Fulcrum."

Chuck flashed. "Operation Assistance final report to NSA director of the Fulcrum task force determined that CIA Agent Sarah Walker was indeed compromised and would operate in the best interest of the asset and not the agency."

"Cole, said that in his report?" Sarah was just a tad on the angry side. "He was an arrogant, pompous…."

"Careful, Sarah. Remember were working on better speech patterns for our pending little one."

"Still, I can't believe he would report that just because I turned him down each and every time he attempted something."

Chuck spoke under his breath but not soft enough for Sarah to not hear, "Not every time."

"Not every time, Chuck? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Come on, Sarah. It was a long time ago, and we both know you were a little enamored with the guy."

"What makes you think that?"

"Uh, you kissed him and from what I saw it fired you up, and you barely resisted him."

"From what you saw? What exactly did you see?"

"I saw you guys kiss when I tapped into the surveillance video through the Orange Orange register."

"You did what?!" Sarah was boiling now.

"I watched you kiss Cole," Chuck responded just as hotly.

"And do you know why? I'll tell you why! Because you were all let's just be friends again with me. I was trying to replace you. So do you want to know what Coles biggest flaw was for me? He was not you!"

"Ok, sure. You might have thought you liked me back then but I doubt you were comparing all other guys to me….. Ouch! Let go of my ear."

Sarah grabbed Chuck and lead him downstairs and shoved him onto the couch. "Sit!"

She opened up a DVD she dug from the back of their video cabinet and placed it in the player. She took a moment to scrub through the video to Day 564. Chuck watched as Sarah confessed in her mission log that she loved him and didn't know what to do about it.

His grin grew larger by the minute. "So there, Chuck. That's why Cole lost. He wasn't my sweet, caring, putting others first, nerd. He was a superspy without complication and emotional pitfalls of being so in love I could hardly think straight. In fact, Bryce, Cole, Shaw, and every other super spy who ever tried to woo me had the same problem, they were never meant for me. God designed you for me and used the others like Northern Stars to lead me to you."

"Wow! You know I'm supposed to be the articulate…"

"If you call me schnook you can just lie right there and sleep."

"Genius," Chuck said and then he pursed his lips and shrugged with an expression that said, what else would I say.

"Right. Let's go to bed. We've got an early flight. Perhaps we can do some data mining on the flight."

"I'd rather find a way to renew our membership." Chuck smiled as he watched her ascend the stairs in front of him.

"Too bad. We're flying commercial. Maybe when this mission is over, we can take our jet to Fiji and you can rub suntan lotion on me and help me relax. After all everything Cole suggested sounded magnificent if he was a little taller and named Chuck Bartowski."

Chuck just laughed as they climbed back in bed. He gave her a kiss, and then the both went to sleep.

-O-

Morning arrived early, but they met the team at LAX and boarded their plane a few hours later. Chuck was not impressed as they stepped off the plane several hours later in Little Rock. The layover in Dallas had been horrible. Riding on the small commuter plane from Dallas to Little Rock was miserable at best. Sure it was just a little larger than his company jet, but the company jet was not 21 rows for seats with three on one side and two on the other. On top of it, Morgan had the window seat and Sarah demanded the aisle since she was pregnant and need the lavatory more often. Chuck thought it was an excuse for more leg room, but he loved so he didn't say anything, until now.

"Wow, babe, you went to the lavatory a lot," Chuck commented to the back of her head as the filed out of the plane.

She looked over her shoulder, "I didn't go to the lavatory."

"Exactly."

She just smiled, "You know you love me." That settled everything, he consented to say no more, because he did indeed love her.

Turning to Morgan as they entered the gate area he asked, "Well, Martin, which way to the baggage claim?"

They both took a moment and attempted to get oriented. Chuck looked down the single hall of gates and realized he could see the last gates to his right, so he turned left and realized they were at gate 2. "Wow, this place is small."

"Come on, Steve!" Casey walked by and clapped him on the back, "We need to get our vehicles and luggage."

They walked around the wall that separated the screening area from those exiting the airport, past the one restaurant, and down the escalator right into the row of car rental booths, and the two baggage belts.

Sarah looked up at Chuck, "Really small."

"Huh?"

"You're right. This place is tiny." Chuck smiled at her. Took her hand and asked, "Which first, luggage or car?"

Carina spoke up while she wrapped her arm around Casey's arm. "You big strong guys should get the luggage while us ladies get the cars. How does that sound, Alex?"

Before Alex could answer, Casey chimed in, "I don't know about strong, and in his case," pointing at Morgan, "certainly not big, but I'm sure they can help me get the luggage."

"Dad, stop being mean to my Martin," Alex stated while looking at Carina with narrowed eyes as she emphasized the words, my Martin. She was still not comfortable around her, even after all these months. Alex knew that Carina called Morgan Martin often in the early years whenever she blew through town and that they had slept together before he met her. Additionally, she didn't like that Carina seemed to be buddied up to her father. Sure, this was a mission and they were a cover couple, but over the past weeks, it looked like Carina might want something for real.

"I was only kidding. You ladies get the cars and us men will get the bags." With that, the guys walked off towards the luggage belts. The women turned and walked up to the help desk.

After what seemed like an eternity, they finally had the keys and were headed for the parking lot.

"What took so long?" Chuck asked Sarah as she walked beside him toward their vehicle.

"Let's just say that the worker at the rental booth made every Buy More employee looks like a model of efficiency."

Once they climbed into the vehicles, the passengers punched in the coordinates for the Little Rock Air Force Base in their phones and the three cars left in convoy. One thing that Sarah noticed on the drive was the dreary nature of the scenery as the rolled down the bypass extension into the Jacksonville area. Then the nightmare began as they merged onto 167 and turned north. The construction was terrible and the road itself worse. When they finally exited a few miles down the road, Chuck called Casey.

"Casey, did you seen any place to eat? I mean it's nothing but fast food up and down the highway."

"You can pull in, but I don't know if Sarah is going to be excited about that, but it looks like we have little choice."

Chuck hung up the phone and told Sarah to follow Casey. As she watched him pull under the bridge and make a left and travel up the access road, she turned to look at Chuck. "Burger King? Please tell me we are not stopping at Burger King."

When the vehicle was finally parked in the Burger King parking lot, Sarah glared at Chuck.

"Come on, you like a burger."

"This is not a burger, Chuck. This is a mass produced frozen puck cooked. A burger is what the mom and pop places still serve with patties that look like flattened meatballs."

"I know, babe, but look around. It appears that this town has had its better days. Let's just make the most of it. We'll eat and then head over to the base, find out what's going on, and then head to the safe house."

"Ok. Fine."

After lunch, the team loaded the vehicles and followed the GPS to the front gate of the Little Rock Air Force Base. They stopped by the gym and went into the locker rooms to change. When they exited, the gym patrons witnessed COL. John Colburn, LTC. Sarah Williams, MAJ. Charles Benson, MAJ. Carina Howard, CPT. Morgan Garcia, and CPT. Alexandra McDonald walks out to one of the SUVs and exits the parking lot. Many of the male airmen and some of the junior officers were talking about who the LTC., MAJ, and CPT were. They were confident they would have remembered them being on base before today. Likewise, some of the female airmen and officers were just as curious, and this did not escape Sarah's attention.

"Looks like you boys were a hit back there in the gym. I think I saw some girls actually swoon when you came out of the locker room. Tell me you didn't notice, Chuck." Sarah teased her husband.

"Nope. I did notice that despite the small baby bump, several of the guys saw you and the other ladies."

"Ah, that's sweet of you to notice, Chuck, but we're actually used to turning heads." Carina chimed in on the conversation. "We were just wondering if you guys wanted any tips on how to handle it, you know since it hardly ever happens to you."

Carina wasn't paying much attention when Casey pulled into the parking spot so he turned quickly to enter the parking spot. This caused her to bump her head on the passenger window. "Ha! How's that for turning a lady's head?"

"Funny, John! Real funny. Talk about being an officer and a gentleman." Carina frowned as she got out of the vehicle. "You know I expected more maturity from you, especially considering your age. Remember that mission when you were my uncle?"

"Hey, I was your only slightly older uncle. Remember your dad was my much older brother?"

"Keep telling yourself that." Carina shot back. "Besides I'm not complaining, after all, you know what they say? The older the violin, the sweeter the music."

"Carina, did you know that John was a choirboy and he can hit some real high notes?"

"Oh, I remember that, Sarah. I mean he just belted out that high c note out of nowhere." Chuck laughed.

"I'm going to make you belt out one of your girly squeals if you don't zip it, Moron." Casey shot Chuck and then Sarah a look. Sarah just raised one eyebrow.

"Morgan, do you think something is developing between my dad and Carina? Morgan, are you listening?"

"Oops, sorry. I was distracted by the jet in the front yard." Morgan stumbled as he walked through the door.

-o-

About five hours later the team was pulling up to the safe house. It was a large two-story house near the University of Central Arkansas campus. The house had been designed to rent out to several college students at one time. The four bedrooms each contained a separate door lock and a bathroom. The downstairs consisted of a shared kitchen and living room. All said it was not a bad house and would accommodate the team comfortably. As they were settling in, Casey decided to tackle the sleeping arrangements by allowing Morgan and Alex to share a room. This provided Carina with her own room.

Somewhere in the night, Carina awoke screaming. Casey was the first to enter the room. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it was a nightmare, just go away." Carina was embarrassed. She didn't have nightmares often, but like most spies when she did they were bad.

"Hey, I know about nightmares. Come here, calm down, it will be alright." Casey pulled her into him and cradled her against his chest as he held his partner. Sarah and Chuck stood in the doorway for just a moment and then retreated before either spy knew they were present.

"Sarah, have you ever seen Casey like that? I mean he is comforting her." Chuck was genuinely shocked by Casey's actions.

"Yes, I've seen Casey be that caring for his partners. Especially when he knows how bad they're hurting."

"You sound like you're speaking from experience." Chuck was very curious.

"Just let it go. He cares for Carina as a partner and possibly more."

"Did he every care for you that way? You know as a partner?"

"Yes. He… he has comforted me a few times. After the first time, I asked him why, and he told me I was like a little sister to him, and that I deserved better than what I was currently experiencing. I should've kept turning to him as a brother more often if I had we might've had less pain in our lives. Now can we let it go."

"Sarah, the times he comforted you, was it because of me?" Chuck watched her face and saw the answers in her eyes. He waited for a response and when it didn't come he nodded. "I'm sorry for all the times I hurt you."

"I know, and we're passed it. So let's let it go. We are all lucky to have Casey, even if he can be a colossal pain the butt sometimes."

"Goodnight, Sarah."

"Goodnight, Chuck."

Chuck and Sarah both laid there for awhile contemplating their past. Chuck concluded from the way Sarah spoke that most of the comforting must've occurred during the early years before Shaw, because it was then that Casey wasn't around, and when he was he was helping Chuck and not teamed with Sarah as often. He felt sorry for Lou, Jill, and Hannah, but little did he know that those weren't the times.

Sarah debated on telling him how Casey held her in the hospital after the Von Hayes mission and how sad she felt over Chuck's words and being forced to be partnered with Bryce. She thought about the months Casey spent keeping her from becoming a CIA zombie again after Chuck walked away on the train platform. However, more than anything she wished she would've turned to Casey about Chuck changing and not Shaw.

Eventually, sleep overtook all the spies. When morning came, it was Alex who was the first up and moving around. As she passed Carina's door, she noticed it was open and her dad and Carina were in bed together. She stood there for a moment taking in the scene. It looked like Carina was holding on to a big teddy bear and he had her in a tight hug to his side. As she was about to walk away, she saw her dad open his eyes and look at her. He mouthed the words, "She had a nightmare." Alex just nodded and headed downstairs.

As she moved about the kitchen, she smiled. Obviously, her dad was a caring person, and she began to realize that morning that he needed someone to care for in his life. She thought Carina was the devil in female form, until a few minutes ago. Evidently Carina was as human as the rest of them, and it might be nice for her and her dad to have someone to care for on a regular basis. As she thought, Chuck entered the kitchen.

"Morning, Alex. Are you ready for your big day?"

"My big day?"

"Sure. We learned yesterday that all launch and navigation equipment was removed from the missile sites. Therefore, the missiles are just a ruse. They must be here for the professor. Seeing as you are the youngest amongst us, it looks like it's time for you to become a UCA Bear coed."

"Ha, ha, Chuck. That's not funny." She looked at him for a few minutes. "Wait you're not laughing."

"Nope. I'm afraid not. Don't worry Sarah and I will be there as well. She is about to become the newest business administration professor, and I'm going to be teaching in the computer department."

"Aren't you worried about Jill discovering you?"

Sarah walked in at that very moment. "Actually, we're counting on her noticing and wanting to make a move. Your job is simple. Keep a watch out among the student body for Jill or someone else moving in close to the professor. We'll use the faculty angle to get close to him."

Alex looked at Sarah's belly and raised an eyebrow.

"Not close like that! Like peers." Sarah frowned. "Those days are over for me. That's what we've got Carina doing for the team."

"What am I doing for the team, getting close to a mark?" Carina asked as she entered the kitchen.

"Not this time. We want you and Casey to operate together staking out our good professor when he is not on campus." Chuck smiled at Carina.

"Hmm. Sounds like a good plan." Casey had slipped in and heard everything. "Just one thing, who takes the mascot?"

"Mascot? Did someone call me?" Morgan asked as he stumbled in rubbing his eyes.

"Morgan, your job is going to be watching over our base here."

"Never fear, no one will take this base of operation as long as Agent Cobra is on the job. To get in here, they would have to cross the highway to the danger zone."

Everyone just smiled.


	22. They All Must Go

**AN: I'm back and the 8-week college term is over. I don't own Chuck, but I like to write and read about him and all the others.**

Chapter 22 –

Campus the next day

Sarah started to round the corner towards the faculty center in the administrative building and pulled back quickly. She rubbed her eyes and looked once more. Sarah could not believe what she saw. She started to turn around and that is when she felt the sharp prick of a needle entering her chest. She glanced down and saw the dart just before her world went dark.

Her assailant stepped from the shadows and stood over her. It was at that time that Alex rounded the corner talking with the professor they decided to investigate, Professor Baybridge. When she heard the two she retreated leaving Sarah lying on the floor, but not before saw the tall blonde woman disappear around the corner.

"Oh my gosh, are you alright?" Alex asked as she rushed up to Sarah. She quickly looked her over and removed the dart being sure to palm it away from the professor. The professor looked down at the woman lying there and offered to go get help. He quickly moved away.

A few minutes later he returned with help. While he was gone, Alex used her watch to communicate to the rest of the team. Chuck was just arriving at the same time as the medical team with Professor Baybridge. Chuck looked at him and at Sarah.

"Do you know what happened?" Chuck asked looking at both Alex and then Baybridge.

"I just transferred into school and was asking my professor what I needed to do to be ready for the short-term. As we were talking, we rounded the corner and saw her laying there." Alex was explaining.

"Who is she?" Baybridge asked looking around the crowd to see if anyone knew her. Immediately he recognized that Chuck knew Sarah.

"This is Professor Emma Phillips, my wife. I'm Professor Steve Phillips. Thank you for your assistance. She is expecting so I'm sure she just got light headed. I can take it from here." Chuck scooped Sarah up and carried her out the side exit and toward the car. He carefully loaded her inside and drove away.

-0-

About an hour later, Sarah was beginning to come around. She lay still with her eyes closed listening for clues. Sarah remembered being tranquilized and was unsure if she was a prisoner somewhere. She was about to open her eyes when she heard movement.

"You can open your eyes, Sarah. You're in the safe house." The sound of Chuck's voice was a comfort to her, as her eyes flew open and locked in on her husband's handsome face. Their eyes met and remained locked as the both could see the love the other held for them. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I think so, but I didn't see who did this to me." Sarah said as she slowly sat up. She had the usual tranq headache and dry mouth. She was about to say something when Chuck nodded toward the water and pain meds sitting next to the bed. She quickly popped the pills into her mouth and swallowed some water. "Thanks."

"Alex saw a tall blonde fleeing the hall as she rounded with Professor Baybridge."

"I guess my cover is already blown, and that means yours is as well."

"Not so fast. We know that someone knows who we are, but that may not be a bad thing. We told those who saw you passed out that it was likely low blood sugar from being pregnant. However, I did take this picture of the professor."

Sarah instantly flashed on the picture. "No way!"

"Yeah. It looks like this is all a trap to get us here."

"Chuck, these people know you're the intersect."

"Wrong. They know I was the intersect. I'm willing to bet that if Damien is here disguised as the Professor, and I didn't act as I recognized him, we might still be in play."

"Ok. What about the blonde?"

"Easy, I scrubbed the security footage, and low and behold it is our old friend…." Chuck trails off as he lifts the picture and reveals it to Sarah.

"Robyn Cunnings. Fantastic, the hits keep on rolling."

"Yes, but this works in our favor. She thinks I lost the Intersect…."

"Hey, how's sleeping beauty?" Casey came in chuckling.

"Funny, John. Go ahead, Chuck."

"Go ahead what? Is the original skin computer postulating again?"

"Ha! Look at you all grown up and using big boy words. I was just telling Sarah that though the players know we are here; they don't know we know that they know we're here."

"Care to break that down, before I break you." Casey looked slightly confused.

Carina, who had been standing in the doorway, let a little snort out.

"It means, we now know this is all a trap with Damien and Robyn Cunnings involved. It also means that they think I'm still without the Intersect."

"How do you figure, Chuck?" Carina stepped in and cocked her head slightly toward one shoulder.

"Easy. They attempted to take down Sarah. Robyn never considered me a threat without the Intersect, and I'm willing to bet that Damien wouldn't as well."

"So, what do you propose we do next?" Carina had taken a seat on the edge of the bed.

"I saw a movie once that portrayed the life of Billy the Kid. In it, Billy tells a story to his friend Doc. He says, 'Remember the stories John Tunstal told us about three Chinaman playing Fantan? Someone runs up to them and says the world is coming to an end. So the first one says, he needs to go to the mission and pray. The second one says he is going to buy a case of mescal and six whores, but the third one says, I will finish the game. I will finish the game, Doc.' That is what we must do, finish the game."

"Are you saying play this out?" Casey had his arms crossed over his chest as he gave Chuck a hard stare.

"Yes, we need to play this out. Damien thinks he is safe, and Robyn thinks she got away. So we continue on knowing that we are trying to lure these people out."

"Wait a minute, Chuck. There is something you're forgetting." Sarah pulled on his sleeve to get his attention.

"What's that?"

"How did Baybridge get on the list? Was he a person whose life they took over, or is he an alias for Damien?"

"Sarah, that is an excellent question, and we need to find the answer fast. If it's an alias then…" Chuck didn't finish. He didn't want to voice to thought and hurt Sarah.

"Then that means that Uncle Joe is playing us." Sarah finished. Chuck just nodded his head not making eye contact.

"Either way, we need to have your mom, Bartowski, keep a close watch on him for us." When Sarah started to open her mouth, Casey continued, "The other Bartowski. Heaven help us there are three Bartowski spies." Casey left to make the necessary contact, and they watched him shaking his head as he left.

"Sarah, Carina, I'm going to start a search on Baybridge." Chuck walked out and then stuck his head back into the room. "Have you guys seen Morgan? He's got the laptops."

Both ladies shook their heads, so he turned and saw Alex in the living room. "Hey, have you seen Morgan?"

Alex nodded her head as she spoke, "Yeah he went out to get some groceries about two hours ago."

"Two hours? Can you call him?"

"Sure, Chuck." Alex dialed Morgan and listened as the call eventually went to voice mail. "No answer. That's weird, Morgan always answers."

"Ok, do you know where he put all our laptops and tracking devices?"

"Sure, he placed them over there in that cabinet." Alex pointed toward the large wood hutch and desk.

"Excellent. Let's see where he is…. And I got him. That's strange it shows him outside here." Chuck quickly went outside and looked around. He didn't see anything so he was just about to turn around and head back inside when something shiny caught his eye. Bending down he recognized Morgan's phone. "Oh, crap!"

Sarah had heard his exclamation and came outside. When she saw Morgan's watch, she called out for Carina and Casey.

"What is it Thing 1 and Thing 2?"

"It's a phone. I thought even a Neanderthal Spy A…"

"Sarah!"

She stopped midsentence and looked at Chuck. "Fine, but we all know what you are. This is Morgan's phone with tracking device.

"Oh, crap! This just keeps getting better." Casey took the phone to look it over. Just as he grabbed it, a message came in.

Go to .com

"Get me a laptop up now!" Chuck said as he sprinted back inside. Everyone followed and soon they were connected. Immediately they saw a two videos. The first was a man in his mid-thirties that both Chuck and Sarah immediately flashed on as the real Baybridge.

They started the video and watched as Robyn slowly tortured and killed the professor. Chuck was shaking by the time they pushed play on a video still that had Morgan's face on the screen.

The video started with Jill Roberts. "Hi, lover. I'm glad you found this little website I made for you. I just want you to know, Chuck that I still love you and I'll forgive you for marrying that CIA tramp. After all, you probably thought I wouldn't come back for you. I must admit though that I'm a little disappointed that she is pregnant. I guess when I get my hands on her, I'll have to wait until the baby is born to make you a widower. However, once she is gone, we can raise your daughter as ours, and I'll make sure she understands how evil our government is, and how they tried to control you with the false love of a woman who only got pregnant to make sure you stayed in line."

Sarah paused the video. "I swear; Chuck, I'm going to kill her. The first chance I get; I'm going to put a bullet between her eyes."

Chuck just reached over and drew her close. He looked over and saw that Casey was holding a very panic-stricken daughter. Even Carina was close to Alex with a comforting hand on her shoulder. He took the remote from Sarah and resumed the video.

"Well, I guess you all need to see what I'm up to and what lengths I'll go to to get what I want." The camera pulled back and Morgan came into focus. She was knocked out and a tranq dart was clearly seen in his neck. "So what do you think? Morgan looks good all tied up. Do you remember that time in school when we decided to try that, and you tied me up? Sarah, have you played that game with Chuck yet?" Anyone standing around could feel the heat coming off Sarah.

"Probably not, I doubt you would take the chance of actually trusting your mark… I mean Chuck. Anyways. Here is what each of you have to look forward to in the future unless Chuck willingly comes to me and gives himself to me." Someone, none of them recognized, stepped forward and poured water over Morgan and he immediately awoke. Just as he started to speak, Jill jabbed battery cables into his chest causing him to scream in pain at being shocked.

"Morgan!" That was all Alex got out before she broke down and started crying. Casey began to take her out, but Carina stepped in and led her away. You could hear her sobbing in the next room.

The video continued for about ten more minutes and before it ended, even Casey had tears streaming down his cheeks. He didn't want to be the one to talk to Alex. Chuck was on his knees sobbing, and Sarah was on hers beside him trying to hold and comfort him. Sure Morgan could get on your nerves and he was a bit annoying and immature, but, in the end, he was an extremely loyal friend. He was going to be missed.

"So now you know what each of you have pending. All I want is you, Chuck. Come be mine and the only other person that has to go is your handler. Don't worry, we'll make sure our baby is ok before we get rid of the human incubator. If not, who knows who will be next. Anyways, as a show of my faith, we've already cleared the area, so here is the address." The address appeared on the screen. "You can come get your friend and take him back to Burbank and handle all his final matters. I'll say this, Danny was wrong, the little guy lasted longer than we thought he would. Do you want to say anything?"

Sarah's heart stopped as Shaw appeared on the screen. Then he reached under his chin and lifted the mask away.

"What's the matter, Sam? I bet that got the old heart racing with warm feelings of long nights." The man stood there and stared into the camera. Then he laughed. "I know you've missed me." The screen went blank.

"How did all these people escape? We must have a massive mole infestation, but before we can plug the holes, we got work to do. I'll break it to Alex, you take care of him." Casey pointed to Chuck. Sarah could still not get over seeing Gaez on the screen.

"Chuck, baby." She pulled him close to her and he wrapped himself around her, buried his face in her neck area and cried. He cried for what this life had done to his family, his father, for Sarah and her family, for their unborn child, but mostly he cried for the loss of yet another friend. His best friend and most loyal supporter, other than Sarah and Ellie, was gone. While they held each other, they could hear the heartbreaking wailing from Alex in the other room, and if you listened close, you could distinguish two other people crying with her.

It was about an hour later before Beckman could get a team to Morgan's location. Team Bartowski couldn't hold it together. Casey refused to leave Alex and Chuck was still sitting there staring at the computer screen. When the team arrived, they began to take the body when what sounded like a very shallow breath was heard. Everything changed at that moment. The team discovered a very faint pulse. Morgan was placed in an ambulance and rushed to the Conway Regional Med Center.

Beckman came on the screen. She sat there a moment taking in the scene of Sarah holding Chuck, and Carina sitting nearby in a chair. "Agent Miller."

Carina looked up and Beckman could see her eyes were red and puffy. "Carina, Morgan is alive."

Immediately Chuck's head shot up and focused in on Beckman. "He was discovered with a faint pulse, almost too weak to register. As they took him to the hospital, his pulse steadily increased. We don't understand how he survived, but he is not out of the woods. The shock torture has burned him severely and the medical team is unsure about internal damage. All we know is he is critical but stable…. And probably in a coma. Get your team together and you can make your way to him. When he is stable enough to travel, we'll extract all of you back home."

"General?"

Beckman looked around the room trying to find someone there that she didn't see before. Then she realized the voice was Chuck's. "What is it, Agent Bartowski?"

"Declare Morgan dead. Let us take him home dead. Jill thinks she has one a victory but all they've done is reveal their identities. She is crazy if she thinks I'm going to go to her and give myself to her, but rest assured, I'll go to her. When I do, I'm going to end her with my own two hands. Benetti, the Ring Director, Gaez, Cunnings, Roberts, and who knows who else have all escaped our prisons. We've got a massive security issue. Therefore, none of them can be taken back into custody, they just need to be taken out."

"Well said! Arnold may have played one, but I'm going to be the real deal. The Syndicate just created the Terminator." Casey never looked more determined.

"Dad! Is it true? How can he be alive?" Alex was afraid to trust what she had heard.

"I don't know, but we're going to find out." He reassured her.

"Well if there is nothing else, Beckman out."

"John, I know. I tried to use it when I was taken by Quinn." Everyone looked at Sarah. "The Intersect has survival methods in the database. There is one for slowing all your vitals down so that a torturer thinks your gone. I bet Morgan remembered it."

"But when would he have ever needed that?" Chuck was shaking his head, not like he was disagreeing, but like he was trying to figure everything out.

"When he was fleeing in Colorado and hiding in the winter weather outside."

"Sounds reasonable. I guess we'll see when he wakes. For now, let's get over to him and set an overwatch to protect him." Carina started urging everyone out the door.

**AN: I just couldn't kill him. **


	23. In the Line of Fire

**AN: Don't own anything like Chuck or anything else referenced. Sometimes I'm frustrated with how easy the first story flowed, and how much I have to work in snippets with this one. Anyways, as promised. I will not leave this great community hanging. For all those who still read, favorite, and most of all review. Thanks. You guys keep writing and reading, and I'll do the same. One day maybe the owners will pull it together and give us closure, but until then... this is my ongoing version of the continuance of The Chuck and Sarah Bartowski Chronicles. Wow that almost sounds like a series of one shot missions and family life. Maybe that is a seed for when this story ends. Who knows?**

Chapter 23 – In The Line of Fire

Two Months Later (6 Months from the Train, 5 ½ months from the Beach and "The Odds")

Chuck was pissed. There was no milder way of stating his current mood. Actually, it had become his default mood. He wanted to smash things. He was frustrated and the only thing, a person really, that brought any relief was Sarah and the time they shared together. However, it that time seemed to fuel a deeper frustration when he went back to work. Morgan was in the hospital and was due to be released finally. That should have made him happy but Morgan suffered severe nerve damage and would never walk unaided again. The best he could hope for was a cane and the support of Alex, who would not leave his side. If and when, Morgan returned to work, it would be within the confines of a secure base with Alex there as a guard. Even that wasn't why he was so pissed. There had been zero leads since they were extracted from Arkansas. Chuck had reached his limit. He was determined to take action and he was tired of waiting. Slamming the folder shut, he pulled out his phone and began to set things in motion. He wasn't going to wait any longer. He was finished with Beckman's, "My best people are trying to locate or find" crap. It was time to become the hunter. He had three months. Three months did his wife and child out of the way before they stepped into the line of fire with everyone else. He exited "The Lair" and started to drive home when his phone rang. Looking down he saw Ellie's picture.

"Hey, El."

"Chuck, could you swing by the grocery store on your way over? I need you to get a case of grape soda and Sarah wants you to pick up some Rocky Road for dessert tonight."

"El, what are you talking about? Are we supposed to come over?"

"Chuck, did you forget? Morgan and Alex's engagement party is tonight."

"Oh man! Yeah, I forgot, let me change directions and I'll head that way and stop off for the stuff. Is Sarah already there?"

Yes. Just a minute and I'll let her talk to you." Chuck could hear Ellie call for Sarah to get on the phone. "She's on her way, hold on. Here she is."

"Hey, baby. How's my man doing?"

"I'm all right."

"No secrets, no lies, no solo missions. You're not fine, what's up?"

"I'm frustrated, Sarah. I want to take these people down so bad I can taste them, and I don't know if I should hate myself for feeling that way, but I do. All these years, I've always felt like I was me, even in the rough training days leading up to being given full agent credentials. No matter when this is all over, I want to still be your Chuck."

"That final statement is what will always make you the man I love. Now listen to me! I was unfair when you were going through training and very hypocritical in dating Shaw, who had killed people and refusing you because your red test finished in a satisfactory status. I was afraid of the changes in you, but since then, you've done what needed to be done when needed and maintained yourself when more force wasn't needed. Baby, I'm not afraid or conflicted, and you go as far as you need to go to make this right in your mind, and I'll be beside you loving and supporting you the entire way."

"Thank you. That removes a lot of the conflict. Hey, I'm pulling into the store. Let me go in, get what we need, and I'll see all of you soon. Oh, before I get off here, have you double checked the security systems around Echo Park? You know I hate us still using that location for any of the family."

"I have and I do. However, we're still waiting on our construction teams to finish the modifications for the other houses we purchased on our street. Until those are done, we don't have a lot of choices."

"Just make sure everything is working."

"I will. Oh, did El tell you that your mother is here?"

"No, but I'm heading to the store now, and I don't want to be rude to anyone by being on the phone."

"Ok. I'll let you go. I love you, Chuck."

"I love you, too, Sarah."

When she hung up with Chuck, Sarah left the apartment and headed across the courtyard to the apartment setup for security. At the last minute, Mary went to join her.

"Sarah, hold up dear, and I'll join you."

Sarah stopped in front of the fountain and turned to wait for her. Just as Mary arrived the tiles next to Sarah exploded with impacting rounds. Sarah dove into the fountain and rolled her body against the retaining wall. She quickly removed her pistol and then carefully listened for any more reports of shots fired. When she didn't hear any more tiles being broken or shots fired, she carefully peeked over the side and gasped. There lying on the ground was her mother-in-law. Sure that they were not under attack any longer, she climbed over the side and went to her. When she arrived, she saw that there was a single wound to the chest, and Mary's breathing was labored. Instantly, Sarah cried out for Ellie or Devon. Then she flashed and began administering emergency medical care better than most doctors.

"Ellie, Devon, help!"

Inside the apartment, Ellie heard Sarah's cry and started to rush out, but she was stopped by Carina. Carina motioned for her to follow her. Drawing her weapon, she led them out into the courtyard where they could see Sarah bent over Mary working to keep her alive.

"Mom!" Immediately Ellie was over her mother crying and looking for the wound. Sarah had already taken one of her knives and enlarged the entrance wound so that she could reach in and pinch off one the arteries that were severed. Carina quickly dialed the DNI line to get the proper medical care brought on the scene. That is to say, medics with top secret clearance to provide care for agents.

"Medics are five minutes out. How's she doing?" Carina called out while maintaining phone contact with the emergency dispatcher.

"Her pulse is weak, breathing labored, and she's unconscious," Sarah replied with expert precision.

"Mom, stay with us, Mom. Stay with us, Mom. Devon! Where are you?" Ellie was holding her mother's hand.

"Right here, babe. Ok, Sarah, let me slide in beside you and check her vitals. Carina, relay information so the incoming medics have a clear picture of what to expect on site. Let's lift her arm, Sarah. There now let's get a good blood pressure reading. Ok her BP is down, and dropping towards the critical zone. She has no signs of shock, but her heart rate is slowed too far down. We've got to watch her close and begin CPR if anything drops further."

"The medics are here," Carina called out and she went to meet them and lead them back inside the courtyard.

"What've we got here?" The chief EMS asked as he surveyed the scene ensuring that his crew was safe before beginning treatment.

"Female, 59-years of age, GSW to her upper torso with a subclavian artery being held by Sarah," Devon informed the medical crew.

"Are you a doctor?"

"Yes."

'Ok, we need to get her on the board and into the bus." The crew quickly went to work and had Mary loaded quickly and they were off to Westside Medical with Sarah still holding her artery and Ellie in the back. Carina and Devon followed behind the ambulance when Carina's phone rang. She looked down to see Chuck's face.

-0-

While the family was working on saving Mary, Chuck was roaming the grocery aisle looking for items to complete his list. He was distracted looking at baby items when his phone beeped letting him know he had a message. He took it out and saw a video file from an unknown number. He opened the file and watched as Sarah and Mary went down under gun fire. Then the video cut off and words popped up on the screen, "Another gone, and another gone, and another one bites the dust. Hey, I'm going to get you. Your Queen."

Chuck quickly hit dial and called Sarah. His call went straight to voicemail. He then attempted to call Ellie, and again his call went straight to voicemail. Finally, in desperation, he called Carina.

"Chuck, we're a little busy right now, there's been a shooting and…"

Chuck cut her off, "I got a video of the shooting, but it showed Sarah and my mother going down. Where are they and are they alright?"

"Sarah and your mom are both in transit to Westside via an ambulance, and…"

"What? Is the baby ok? Is Sarah alright? Carina talk to me!"

"Chuck, slow down. Sarah and the baby are okay, but Chuck, your mom…"

"Please don't say she's gone, please don't tell me that."

"Chuck, she is hanging on barely and I just don't know. Devon is with me, let me put him on the phone. Here."

"Chuck, it's Devon. Look, dude, your mom's been shot in the upper torso and the bullet nicked the subclavian artery."

Chuck stumbled getting in the car as the flash overtook him. "Devon, that's not good, man. That's a quick bleed artery and unless it is held off she… wait, she's still alive, that must mean that… that's why Sarah is with her. She's holding the artery closed."

"Dude, you and your wife are something else. Those super computer brains of yours make me regret all the years in medical school. When you receive information like that is it like reading a book? Cause, dude…"

"Devon, stop changing the subject and deflecting. I know the medical facts of the situation. Her chances are slim. I'm on my way, but I want you in that OR."

"Chuck, it's my mother-in…"

"Don't hand me any of that your too close to the situation crap. I've heard that line from the spies enough, and it's not true for them, and it's not true now. You love her, and that's why you'll do what ever it takes to save her if saving her is possible."

"Ok, Chuckster. Ok, I'll be in there. We're pulling in now, I'll have Sarah and Ellie waiting on you. Gotta go if I'm going to be in that room." Then the line went dead.

Chuck stared at the phone for a moment, and then started the car and sped off towards the hospital emergency room.

-0-

Twenty minutes later, he entered the waiting room and saw his sister and wife. Ellie jumped to her feet and rushed into his arms, throwing her arms around his neck, and sobbing. He held her and rubbed circles on her back as he stared over her shoulder into the eyes of his wife. She had tears pooling in the bottom of her eyes, and he could see his mother's blood on her shirt. He took one hand and motioned for her and she moved the few steps to join her husband and sister-in-law in a hug. Just then Carina walked in and stopped short. Carina was sill very much a spy, and hated to cry in front of others, but the sight of the Bartowski siblings and Sarah holding each other and crying was too much. She ducked back around the corner and tried to gain her composure while wiping her eyes. Just then he phone vibrated and she saw General Beckman's image.

"Miller, secure but in public."

"Beckman, secure. Carina what in the world is happening?"

"Mary Bartowski and Sarah came under fire from a sniper. Bartowski, sorry, Mary was shot and is in surgery with little chance of survival. Sarah was unharmed but administered first aide. Ellie and Devon Woodcomb were on site, and Devon assisted Sarah in treating her. Devon is in the OR now and Sarah is with Chuck and Ellie."

"Excellent. Keep me posted. I'm going to get a crew out there to run the trajectories and forensics, and see if we can't get a lead on these people. Let me know if anything changes. Beckman out."

"I'm alright. Thanks for asking Aunt Diane." Carina replied to the deadline.

She rounded the corner again and saw everyone seated. She made her way over never revealing what her real emotional state was at seeing them all hugging. She walked over and put her arm over Chuck's shoulders and reached down and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She then turned to Sarah and smiled at her to let her know that it was only a kiss of comfort and friendship. Sarah returned her smile.

The wait seemed like an eternity, and yet time flew by the minute that Devon entered the waiting area. He walked over to Ellie, wrapped his arms around her, whispered in her ear, and she broke down in what can only be described as a wail. Immediately, Sarah latched on to Chuck, who also began to break down as Devon let him know his mother was gone again. After a few minutes, Chuck pulled away.

"I need some fresh air. I… I've got to get out of here for a few minutes." He kissed Sarah on the cheek, placed a hand on her belly, and then turned to walk outside. Sarah followed him and watched him in silence. She knew her husband was hurting more now than ever, and he was processing all that had happened. Once they were in the pre-dawn doors, he turned to her and started to speak and then stopped more than once before he said what was on his mind.

"Sarah, I'm sick of this. I want these people, and I want to take them down. We've got a three-month window. I'll let them move us to a bunker if we must, but that really is no way for our child to grow up. So we've got one choice, take the fight to them, and that's what I plan to do...," Chuck trailed off as he looked across the street. "Starting now!" In the blink of an eye, Chuck was off running across the street, chasing someone who took off running when Chuck bolted.

"Chuck, wait!" Sarah screamed at him, as she began to move as well. What she observed would take her a little time to get over, but she understood. The man running away had a slight catch in his gait and Chuck easily found him when the man tripped over debris in an alley. Chuck, drew his weapon and ordered the man to stand down. It was then that Sarah rounded the corner and realized that Chuck had taken Damien down. Unlike the Hunter Perry incident, both of them saw Damien attempting to draw his backup, so Chuck shot him in the knee first and then kicked his weapon away.

"I said stand down. I will not tell you again. Any attempt to escape, attack, or do anything other than what you're instructed to do will result in pain up to and including death. Am I clear?"

"Yes." Damien moaned out looking at both Sarah and Chuck.

"Good. On your feet." Chuck ordered.

"I… I can't, you shot me in my knee." Damien tried to reason between breaths and gritting his teeth. Just then a gunshot reported and he screamed in pain again.

"I told you, any disobedience would result in injury. That was only a few inches higher. Next one comes a foot higher." Chuck wasn't smiling, he wasn't grimacing, he was almost entirely stoic. No one would've noticed the emotions rippling through him, but Sarah wasn't no one, she was everyone when it came to Chuck, and she saw his actions stemming from his pain, fear, and anger. So she moved around to Chuck's right side, removed her left hand from supporting her right, and began to press down on his arms to lower his firing position while talking him down.

"Agent Bartowski…" She looked at Damien. They knew they were married and clearly she was with child so she amended her speech. "Chuck, honey, lower your weapon and let me take it from her. I'll hold him secure and you call Carina and get a cleanup crew here. We need him alive to talk."

There was no reason to call Carina, as she was walking up behind them. Chuck spun and took aim, and then lowered his weapon upon recognition. Carina had been watching them through the glass doors of the hospital and took off when they did. She followed a comfortable distance back to make sure she was available for backup and not in the thick of a fight penned down and thus, unable to help. She had heard the two separate shots and took in the scene. She looked at Sarah asking if she had done this, and Sarah cut her eyes to Chuck. Carina nodded slightly and pulled her phone. She dialed in the scene and hung up.

"The cleanup crew will be here in a few minutes. I'm going to call this into Beckman, and we can give the official report later." Carina turned once more and moved to the opening of the alley.

"Beckman, secure."

"Miller, secure. Mary is gone, but we've got a prisoner in custody."

There was a pause on the other end as Beckman composed herself. Mary had been a good agent and at one time a friend. "Roger. Who is it and how were they captured?"

"Damien. Chuck and Sarah were outside after receiving notification from Devon about Mary. When Chuck spotted and pursued Damien, Sarah followed, and I followed them. When I arrived on the scene, Chuck and Sarah both had their weapons drawn. Damien was down with gun shots to the right knee and slightly higher in the thigh. Sarah indicated that Chuck took the shots. I also saw another weapon away from the prisoner, and it looks like it might've been kicked away."

"I see. Do you think Chuck fired in justification?"

"What're we now? The Marshall service? I can't believe you asked if he was justified. The man is alive. If he drew on anyone else in our team, he would be dead. Even in Chuck's pain and anger he stopped short of killing the man."

"You're correct, Carina. Beckman is out now, but I want to know how you're holding up."

"I'm good, Aunt Diane. Thanks for asking. It gets tough sometimes with how close everyone is on the team."

"How's Casey?"

"He's okay. I've been keeping him company and helping him with his anger. He's going to be mad he missed all of this. I can hear him now complaining about his itchy trigger finger."

"That's the John we know and lo… trust." Carina didn't miss the near slip of the tongue. "Anyways, Beckman out."

Carina actually believed what she told the general, but the reality that Chuck and Sarah would need to work through was that Chuck was killing Damien slowly or was he? When the cleanup crew arrived and things were turned over, Sarah drew Chuck away to the side.

"Chuck, were you going to kill him?"

"No, I accomplished my mission with him. I don't care who tortured, or pulled the trigger. I'm going to repay action for action. He was Morgan's. The next one ends like my mom." There was a hardness in his voice that Sarah didn't recognize, but then again she did know that tone. It was the sound of a hard core agent, but it wasn't his tone, her husband's tone. In fact, it had never been his tone until now, and when she thought about it, it had been building for some time now.

"Chuck, honey, please don't let this change who you are to us. I need my Chuck, who loves life and can find the good in the worst of situations."

"Look around, Sarah. What's good about this? Morgan's crippled, my mom's dead, and you're on a timeline to become the prime target of a criminally insane witch. What's good in this?"

Sarah took his hands, both of them, and placed them on her belly. "Feel that? That's what's good here! That's our love manifested in the flesh, and soon that love will be held in our arms, crying for food and a new diaper, and then our love will be going to the prom, and getting married and giving us grandchildren. That's what's good!"

Chuck's eyes filled with tears. "That's why I'm doing this, and that's what I'm fighting for each day and why I work so hard to find these people."

"I know, baby, but Chuck, you can't fight at their level. I can't even fight at their level anymore. I want to fight there. I want to rip them apart, but I know that'll never make Morgan run, or resurrect my mother-in-law. So please, don't let it take any more away from us."

He just hung his head and nodded as the tears began to spill down his cheeks. "Ok, but we still take the fight to them."

"Of course, honey. We take the fight to them, and we trust Beckman to carry out her promise of letting the those trained and hired to take care of these people properly. So when we can, we take them alive, and if we can't then, we help each other through the hard times. However, we don't incapacitate and then vindictively continue to wound."

Chuck raised his head, looked her in the eye, and nodded. "Can we go home?"

Sarah put her arm around him and lead him past Carina and towards the parking garage for the hospital. Carina was watching them when she felt a sting and everything went dark. No one noticed her drop and be pulled into the side entrance to the building. However, little did her attackers know that things had changed in the technology world, and they just made their first real mistake in a long time.


	24. The Norsemen Are Coming

**AN: Still plugging away. I hope you're still reading. Be sure to review, and as another school year closes, I really hope to complete the story over the summer. As always, I like you don't own Chuck, unless you're a WB PTB or a creator, then if you're one of those... at least give us a movie. Most fans still hate the ending, even if we've accepted the rhetoric of their still in love and together. We want to see it!**

**Neale: Thanks for the review of this chapter and pointing out that I missed more than usual. I went back through and hopefully this is a cleaner version for everyone.**

**Anyways, enough ranting... back to the story.**

Chapter 24-

A few hours later.

"Bartowski, secure."

"Casey, secure. Sarah, have you or Chuck seen Carina?"

"We saw her last at the hospital. Why?"

"I've been trying to call her, and she is not picking up or responding to text messages, and her phone isn't transmitting."

"Ok. Where are you?"

"Home. I was trying to get footage of the security cameras from the hospital, but they're not showing anything."

"Head to the office. I'll start a search as soon as I arrive."

Chuck had been laying on the sofa in their living room lost in thought when the phone rang. He sat up and listened and when he saw Sarah head towards the small table near the door where they dropped their keys, he got up to follow her. Sarah turned to him and put her hand on his chest as we walked up to her. "I know you heard, but Chuck, you can stay here and rest. I'm sure it's nothing serious, Casey and I can handle this."

"I appreciate that, but we've made that mistake before. I went home, and you stayed behind when Quinn captured me. It seems that when we're apart, things happen."

"Are you sure, baby?"

"Yeah, I don't want to be alone, and I don't want us separated. Besides, there is something I've been working on that might help us locate Carina."

30 minutes later

"Looks like we beat Casey here," Chuck stated as he looked around the car garage of their complex. "Well, let's get inside and see what we can find."

Sarah and Chuck walked into garage elevator and pushed the button for floor one and two simultaneously. The keypad slid up and revealed a hand scanner. Sarah placed her hand on the scanner and waited for the green light to show. Then the elevator began to descend into their sub-ground compound. When the doors opened Chuck immediately departed to the back of the compound while Sarah moved to one the computers in the main planning room. She started working through the hospital video feeds and barely noticed when Casey entered the planning center.

"What've you found?" Sarah turned and saw an anxious John Casey, and it unnerved her. John had always been a stable force when Chuck and her were out of kilter because something was going wrong. In fact, John held both of them together at separate times while they were hunting for Chuck's mother. She could never forget how far Casey went to help her recover Chuck from the Belgium, and how he helped Chuck get through her time in Volkoff Industries. She hated to see him this vulnerable, but she would never express that because it would disrespect John.

"I just started working on the video…"

"I already told you there is nothing there! Why're you wasting time going over something I've already done. Surely with your memories back you know I'm a competent spy."

Sarah started to respond but was cut short when Chuck answered while walking into the planning area.

"John! I understand you're upset. In fact, we're all upset, but we can't start ripping each other apart, and I certainly can't let you speak to my wife in that manner. I know you're her partner, and you guys have gone at it before, but this isn't going to help us."

Casey stood there for a moment impressed by how much Chuck has grown over the years. When his father died he almost entirely shut down, and Casey had wondered if he would bounce back when Sarah was without her memories, but this was a whole new level of maturity for Chuck.

It was then that both Casey and Sarah noticed the case in Chuck's hand. He sat it on the table and stared for a moment at the Volkoff Industries logo on the lid. He then opened the case and began removing the components of the Norseman device. Sarah felt her blood run cold, and Casey's eyes grew massive as he stared at the instrument. He let out a low growl and asked, "What're you doing with that?"

"I'm going to take care of Carina…"

"Chuck, you can't… Casey, let my husband loose." Casey had sprung into immediate action and had Chuck in a choke hold. Sarah grabbed Casey's hands and pulled them off Chuck's neck. Chuck immediately gasped for air and bent over at the waist trying to regain his balance. "Chuck, what're thinking? We're not going to take Carina out." Sarah was livid, but she wasn't intent on killing her own husband. Casey, on the other hand, was barely restrained at this point.

Chuck finally got out between coughs, "I…. reversed… engineered… to track… anyone… using… DNA… like… it… used… to… attack."

With that, Casey looked relieved and a little ashamed, so he reached over and helped Chuck into a seat and whispered, "Sorry."

Sarah quickly ran to the sink and got Chuck some water and brought it to him. "Here, baby, drink this." She waited while Chuck swallowed the water and rubbed his neck. "Better?"

"Yeah. You guys actually thought I would terminate Carina?"

"That device is a death machine, Chuck," Casey growled out.

"Not anymore. I don't know if it will work as a tracker yet. I've not had a chance to test it, but I know it is no longer a killer since it doesn't use the radiation used to poison Sarah."

"Ok. So what do we need to test this?"

"We could request her DNA be sent over from the storage facility used to store hers and other government operatives' DNA samples. The trouble with that is, which facility in the nation has her sample, and how long would it take. Therefore, I suggest we go to her locker and look for some hair on a uniform or maybe a hairbrush."

Sarah smiled, "We could always take some of her spit from Casey's mouth."

Casey turned red and glared at her. "Oh, don't glare at me. Especially, after all the crap you gave Chuck and me in the early years."

Casey looked at both of them and headed for the lockers. As he went, he called over his shoulder, "Funny!"

Sarah looked at Chuck as he stared at the Norseman. "You ok?" Chuck looked back at her. "Not really, but I can't shut down like I did with my dad. We need to get Carina back ASAP, and then I can sit down and think about Mom and what Ellie and I need to do. It's just… never mind."

Sarah reached out and rubbed his neck as he stared at the floor. For a moment, her mind flashed back to a time when they stood outside his father's trailer. His hair was longer then, he was far more innocent, but she loved him just as strongly as back then. At that moment, she wanted to weep for him and all that he had lost in his childhood, but now she wanted to sob for him and all that his adult life has suffered. "Chuck, talk to me. What is it, baby?"

It didn't escape Chuck that this moment was similar to their early years. He slowly rubbed his forehead and massaged his temples. "Is it wrong that I find it hard to grieve, I mean really mourn, a woman who I barely knew? Don't get me wrong. I love her and will miss her, but it's not like there was this great connection."

As his eyes filled with tears, she tried to blink away her own. "Honey, there is no wrong way to grieve. I don't think anyone can tell you how to feel, to include me. Just know that I love you no matter what. You can cry, mope, get angry, or whatever and I'll be there for you. I'll always be here for you."

"Thanks," he whispered.

Casey noticed the situation and stood in the doorway behind Chuck. When Sarah saw him, she gave a slight nod, and he entered. He walked up to Chuck and placed his hand on his back, waited a moment, and then laid the hair on the table in front of him. "Is this enough or do I need to try and pry more out of her brush?"

Chuck took a deep breath, raised his head, and stood up straight. Then he looked down at the brush, "This should be enough." He placed the hair in the Norseman and then turned to the computer monitors. He opened a new app he designed and then activated the device. Instantly, the map, which was centered on the LA area, began to re-center and came to stop over the Sacramento area, but was still traveling. "They must still be traveling. It looks like they're moving along surface roads. Casey, can we get an airlift? We can track while we're on the move."

"Chuck, we don't know how many people are involved or where they're headed." Sarah turned him to look at her. As he looked at her, he saw the concern on her face as she looked into his eyes trying to read his mind and emotional state.

"Calm down," Chuck said as he held both her hands and rubbed the back of them in soothing circles with his thumbs. "We'll land outside the final region and make sure we surveil the area before entering any hostile location. I know I'm not at the level of you and Casey, but if you guys are to be believed after the past two years, I'm the third best spy in the world."

"Hmmm. Well, come on 3 let's get geared up before 2 blows a fuse." She smiled and turned towards the armory when Chuck spun her around and kissed her with everything he felt. As they parted he smiled, "Now let's go gear up."

Moments later.

"You've got to be kidding me?" Sarah was trying to fasten the Velcro straps on her vest. Chuck watched her for a moment and though he knew she was upset and what he was thinking wouldn't help, he couldn't resist.

"Looks like you're going to have to…"

"Don't you say it! No!" Her eyebrows were raised, eyes wide, and her nostrils were flared.

"…stay in the van!"

"Ha! Now that's funny. Let's see if the newest Bartowski can obey any better than her husband." Casey was bent over laughing.

"Ugh! This is your fault," Sarah exclaimed as she punched Chuck in the chest. "I love you and our baby, but sometimes I don't like you very much! Like right now!" She ripped the vest off, threw it on the table, grabbed her guns and stormed out. "Guess I'll be in the van waiting, and Chuck, do the words cut off and doghouse mean anything to you?"

Casey started laughing harder when he saw the look on Chuck's face. Chuck narrowed his eyes and said, "Come on let's go rescue your girl so one of us can enjoy the romantic side of life. Stupid hormones."

Casey was trying to wipe the tears from his eyes as he grabbed up his gear to follow Chuck. Yeah, things were bad, but in the spy life, sometimes you still needed to remember to laugh and enjoy the moments. The "suck" would return soon enough.

-0-

The original three were in the chopper moving north at a blistering pace. The plan was to check on Carina's location, sneak up and check things out, confirm her presence, and then raid the site. They were seated inside the Blackhawk facing each other. Sarah and Chuck were facing the rear of the aircraft with their backs to the pilot, co-pilot, and crew chief, in the middle two seats. Casey was directly across from them, and five other agents assigned to a strike team were with them onboard.

Casey's voice came in muffled through the headset within the helmet each person in the helicopter was wearing. "Ok, where we at in regards to pinpointing her location?" Chuck leaned over and pointed to his tablet. "Her marker has slowed down, and looks to be moving along surface roads towards Fulsom."

Sarah pointed to an area of the map. "If I wanted a place to take a prisoner in this area, I would take her to the north side of Fulsom Lake along the east side of the North American River branch there. It's rough terrain, has hills and vegetation, and small civilian population. You just have to avoid the park rangers."

Casey studied the map for a few moments more, and then gestured for Chuck to hand him the tablet. He zoomed in on a few places and then turned the tablet around so that Sarah and Chuck could see. "Sarah, I think you're right. The east side of the northern branch is perfect for seclusion. From a military perspective, the ridge makes it nearly impossible to approach with aircraft, and the terrain makes a ground invasion slow and challenging. Adding to our difficulty is the fact that they own the high ground. Our best bet would be to fast rope into the area ahead of them, especially now that they are using ground transport. See her marker is still moving along Highway 50 out of Sacramento and towards the lake."

Chuck studied the marker, "What do you suggest?"

"You guys see that airport near Rancho Cordova, it's Mather Air Force Base, or was. It's closed now but from time to time you can still see aircraft there. My suggestion is, we report in, and then land there, pick up the gear and move out. Hopefully, they will be past us at that point, and we'll know if they went east or west along the lake. We can then take the opposite side. The last thing we want is to run into them as their driving along the road."

"Why?" Chuck had an authentic look of curiosity on his face. Sarah reached over and touched his arm, and he turned his head to look at her. "Chuck, do you remember when your dad died, and Shaw had us in that prison transport?" She waited for his nod. "We were lucky that the vehicle was stopped when Morgan shot that rocket into the vehicle. If it had been moving, and we were still chained it would've pulled our arms off."

Chuck grimaced, "Like Johnny 23." He then shook his head.

"Johnny who? Is this another one of your movie references?" Sarah looked at him bemused.

"Yeah, Con Air with Nicholas Cage. Maybe we can watch it sometime?"

"Sure, baby, that sounds great, but let's get our heads back in the game. Casey, how long until touchdown?"

"Another three-zero-mikes. Let's get the brass on the horn. Chief, get us a secure relay patch to NSA headquarters."

"Roger that, General Casey."

-0-

Carina attempted to remain as still as she could. She was aware that she had been drugged and that she was currently in a moving vehicle. One thing was for certain she didn't want her captors to know she was awake. She didn't want to be sedated again, and she wanted to try to gather information. Sometimes we don't get what we want.

"Hello, Agent Miller. I see by your heart monitor that you are back with us. Most people wouldn't notice a spike in your line and then your heart coming to rest at an even pace, but unfortunately, I'm not most people, and your even pace is higher than it was before now. So go ahead and open those eyes."

It took a moment for her vision to clear. There in front of her was Jill Roberts, well more like above her. That's when she realized her arms, legs, and head were strapped down to what felt like a cot. She looked around at the ceiling of the vehicle and realized that she was in an ambulance. She could see the storage bins with the biohazard symbols on the doors. "Why… Why am I not dead already?"

"Simple, you're not an original team member or family member of Chuck's. Therefore, you don't have the same shock value for breaking his will, but you do hold value to that… that… that tramp who took him from me. How do you like that? I'm getting better with my language. After all, I wouldn't want our baby saying horrible things."

"Your baby?"

"Yeah, I'm going to raise Chuck's child as my own, with him, and we'll be one of the most marvelous couples around. Do you like my new hair? I dyed it so no one would wonder why two dark haired people had a blonde child. You know just in case the baby looks like her." Jill finished her speech with a frown and snarl.

"You're out of your mind. There is no way Chuck will ever love you. Sarah is his world."

"It's hard to embrace a world that doesn't exist. Once she's dead, I'll have everything. Oh, looks like we're here. Time to trade transports. No one would believe an ambulance heading up into the high country."

Jill and her team of four quickly moved Carina to a van and left the ambulance abandoned outside of the Casa Coloma Medical Center. They then began their journey up the west side of Fulsom Lake.

-0-

"Did you guys see that?" Chuck was pointing to the tablet again. "They came stationary at a hospital on the west side, and then started moving again headed north up the west side."

"That's good," Casey called out as he leaned over to look at the map. "The air base is better suited for us to travel up the east side anyways."

"Five minutes." The crew chief called out. It looks like the team was only fifteen to twenty minutes behind Carina.

"Alright, this means that by the time we make the tactical transition, they should be arriving at their safe house. If we time this right, we might be able to get there before their security setup gets into a full routine." Casey sat back and closed his eyes for a moment.

It was only a few minutes longer, and the team was on the ground.

"Now what?" Chuck looked around the airstrip. Sarah grabbed his hand and led him into the hangar closest to the team.

When they walked in they noticed that Colonel Theil and his team were waiting for them to arrive. After a quick salute to Casey, the Colonel spoke to the team, "It's good to see you guys again. So who do we get to take out today?"

"Just another group of local bad guys and different members of evil incorporated," Sarah quipped.

"That's not true. We're going in to take out members of an organization that has declared war on our family, our team, and by extension our government. Rest assured Colonel when dealing with these people offer no quarter or mercy, for they will not give any to your men." Everyone turned to see Chuck perusing various pieces of the arsenal in preparation for battle. Without looking up, he continued, "When our companion's marker becomes stationary, we'll move into the area, observe our targets, close with the enemy, and dispatch them while rescuing our partner who's currently being held captive."

"Chuck!" He stopped and looked at Sarah. He could see the moisture building in her eyes. He knew she was upset. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Chuck walked over to her and stood in front of her. Sarah started talking in a whispered tone, "I thought we agreed to only take out those who couldn't be stopped otherwise." Chuck looked at her for a minute, studying her eyes, and debating his potential answers. Finally, he responded, "Sarah, I will not take out anyone unless there is no other option. That's what I promised, but I want these men prepared because you know, as well as I do, that most of them will not leave us any other option."

"Hey, you two. Carina is stationary. I'm bringing it up on a larger monitor."

Col. Theil and Team Bartowski studied the map on the screen. Col. Theil turned to Casey, "Well, General, it looks like they have a safe house up on the ridge. We've got two options. We can conduct an amphibious approach from the west, or we can approach by land from the east."

Chuck looked around the room. His eyes fell on a painting on one of the walls. It depicted various types of flight, and then he had an idea. "Maybe there is a third option. We can create a diversion if we come in by air, land, and sea."

"What do you mean?" Sarah grabbed his arm and turned him to face her. She looked very concerned. "An air assault leaves you vulnerable while your aloft."

"True. However, what if we took a small team and created a diversion. Sarah, you could pilot a boat and remain a safe distance away to protect you and the baby. You would pull two soldiers attached to gliders which would appear to be flying into the area. This should create enough concern that their security becomes focused on the gliders. Then we launch the ground assault followed by an amphibious team arriving from the north."

"That just might work." Casey was studying the map carefully. "There will be no avenue for escape. We just need to time this right. Chuck, can you get us an aerial view from a satellite?"

"There you go." The image came up on the screen.

"Google Earth. You got to love it! General, Agents, I will find my two best paratroopers, and then divide out my divers. The rest will join us in the assault. How much time do I have?"

Casey looked at everyone. We deploy the ground forces within the hour, then the divers three zero mikes later. Finally, Sarah your team needs to be ready to go within two hours. You will give the signal to unleash the dogs of war."

"Hey, Sarah, look at this way. With this plan, you don't have to stay in the van." Sarah turned and punched Chuck in the chest. "Help, assault," Chuck cried out while laughing.

"I love you, but sometimes you make me so mad, Chuck!"


	25. The Dogs of War

**AN: I don't own Chuck. It's been a busy month. Still writing. This one is a little shorter because it felt right to split it here before writing the next stage. Thank you for all those who are reviewing. Your encouragement is appreciated. **

Chapter 25 – The Dogs of War

The sun was up, and the heat was lingering under the trees and vegetation that spotted the hill slopes and ridge line. Chuck was embedded with the soldiers from Col. Theil's unit. They were slowly advancing up the side of one the hills using the trees, underbrush, and large rocks for both cover and concealment. The cover was not the issue at that moment, but concealment was, and if it was lost, cover became the most important thing. Still, Chuck hated the feeling of the camouflage paint smeared on his face. It made it feel like sweating was three times harder than normal, and it itched. Chuck wanted to use his fingernails to scrape it all off and to ease his primal desire to scratch. Chuck was nearing his wits end when they stopped for the millionth time. That is when he felt the most annoying thing in the world. A drop of sweat rolled down his backside right between where left meets right. Chuck thought to himself, "This sucks. How do soldiers do this day in and day out?" He decided to look ahead and see if he recognized any of the hand signals being communicated between the lead soldiers.

Two soldiers moved forward and assumed positions across from one another. They laid prone facing a small clearing in the vegetation. Once they were in position, then two soldiers from the back of the group moved forward, ran between the other soldiers and across the clearing. When they reached the other side, they fell prone and faced the directions they were traveling. Then two by two the rest of the unit followed the example of the soldiers that had just crossed the clearing. Chuck followed suit when it was his turn to cross the clearing. Casey crossed with him, and once in a secure position he whispered to Casey, "What are we doing?" Casey rolled close to Chuck and whispered, "Crossing a danger zone."

Once all the soldiers were across the area they continued their movement along the ridge. Chuck was surprised that these men could move so silently while carrying the loads they hauled on their backs. Indeed, they were lived up to their motto of being silent professionals.

It wasn't long before they came to a stop. Just beyond a clearing, a cabin sat back into the woods. They could see some men performing a roving patrol. There were probably about 20 men altogether within and without the structure. Chuck looked at his watch and then in the sky. It shouldn't be long before Sarah brought the boat up the lake with the parasailers preparing for their aerial distraction. He maneuvered slightly and realized he could see the lake from his vantage point. He began scanning the surface when he heard the sound of a boat engine and saw the wake on the surface.

Unfortunately, Chuck wasn't the only one to notice the boat moving toward the shoreline. One the members of the roving patrol saw the boat. He quickly rushed over to a storage shed and removed a rocket launcher. Dropping to a knee and firing before anyone could react, he unleashed a rocket headed directly for Sarah.

Chuck was helpless to do anything but watch as the rocket made direct contact with the ship turning it into a fireball. Chuck snapped. The Intersect activated, and Casey would later report that Chuck's actions were similar to the time when he ingested the Laudanol. He leveled his suppressed M4 and fired a single shot at the man who fired the launcher. The man quickly dropped to the ground as the round struck him just behind the ear. It was a clean shot, and Chuck was moving.

He ran into the clearing and used the Intersect's fighting skills to take out the dead man's two partners. He then moved up to the window beside the door, smashed the glass with his elbow and tossed in a flash-bang. The grenade went off disorienting nearly everyone in the room. Chuck kicked in the door and entered the building without backup.

Casey could only watch in amazement as Chuck surged forward. He looked to his forward right and saw the additional troops start to round the corner to support their friends. Casey opened fire and taking down the first two men to move out from the cover of the building. This is when Thiel's men opened up and began to assault the side and rear of the cabin. Casey was just reaching the steps when Chuck entered the front door. He could already hear the sounds of battle inside.

When Casey entered the living room, he saw beaten and broken men lying around the room. It was clear that none of them were living. Chuck was just finishing off a man when Casey called for him to, "Stand down!" Chuck looked Casey directly in the eye, and it startled Casey. Chuck simply removed his hand from the man's chin in a quick snapping motion that sent another man to eternity. Casey was about to say something else when another man popped up from behind the sofa leveling a pistol. Casey's shot flew true, and the man fell back while the man's round went through the ceiling. When Casey turned to look, Chuck was moving through a door in the cabin that looked like a bedroom door.

Chuck kicked the door in and moved straight into the room. His eyes leveled on the two people in front of him. Jill was right there with a knife to Carina's throat. Jill opened her mouth on seeing him, "I knew one day…" She never finished. Chuck didn't hesitate, he leveled his pistol and fired a clean shot between the eyes. As she fell back, her blade made a superficial cut on Carina's neck. Carina didn't feel or see a thing. It was evident she was still knocked out from some kind of sedative. Chuck looked passed them to the open window and saw that the curtains were pushed outside. Someone had just left through the window. He was off to catch them.

Casey entered the doorway after hearing a single shot. He looked in, and Carina was slumped over with a bloody mark on her neck, and Chuck was diving through the window like an acrobat at the circus. Jill was obviously dead. He rushed over to Carina and gently moved her head to look at her neck. His hand reached for her wrist and feeling a pulse, he let out a sigh of relief. He didn't want to think about life without her, now that he was letting himself think along those lines. He gently laid her head back on her chest and went to the window. He saw Chuck standing there looking down a path where dust could be seen receding. He knew instantly that someone got away on an ATV. As Casey watched him, it clicked. Sarah was on the boat that exploded!

-Moments Earlier-

Sarah sat on the boat scanning the sky and ridge line making sure that her team was way safely. That is when she saw the puff of smoke and the rocket trail headed her way. In an instance, she flashed and dove. She just cleared the boat, and dove under the water trying to swim deeper when it seemed like the water above her turned to fire. She felt the shock wave drive her body deeper. It was then that the Intersect kicked in and gave her the ability to correct herself, and make her ascent to the surface. When she broke the surface, her lungs were screaming for air. She looked around momentarily and found a piece of the boat. Latching on for the support she began making her way to the shoreline. As she was swimming, she heard the sounds of battle on the ridge above.

-0-

Casey rounded the corner of the cabin, but Chuck was no longer in the path. That is when he noticed Chuck running through a clearing downhill towards the lake. He looked like he was trying to get ahead of the ATV that was winding down the path that led towards the lake. For moment Casey imagined Arnold Schwarzenegger driving a suburban downhill with no engine trying to stop the people who kidnapped his daughter Alyssa Milano. However, all that ended when he saw Chuck leap off a cliff headfirst, and out of sight.

-0-

Sarah had just walked up on the shore when she heard what sounded like ATVs roaring just overhead. Her eyes quickly tracked the dust and looked ahead for a possible destination. That is when she noticed the speedboat docked slightly off-shore. That had to be their destination. She was about to take off running, well she was going to run as much as she could being 6-months pregnant, but before she could take off two bodies came crashing down in the sand on the shoreline. It only took her a moment to realize one of the bodies was Chuck's body.

-0-

Chuck was not thinking about how crazy this was to run downhill chasing three ATVs. In fact, he wasn't thinking at all, all he knew was Sarah was gone, his baby was gone, and if he's life was over, so was those who ended his. Therefore, when he came to the cliff and the ATVs were directly below them he leaped forward. As he flew over one the ATVs, he grabbed a guy on the back of the center vehicle and crashed further over the side, landing in the sand along the lake's shoreline. He had just rolled out of the crash and was preparing to snap this guy's neck when he heard Sarah screaming his name.

"Chuck! Chuck!"

He had the man's neck in the crook of his elbow, and he was standing behind him. He locked his hand on his opposite forearm for leverage and was squeezing when he realized she was really there. At that moment, he eased back and allowed the man to pass out rather than ending his life.

"Sarah?"

"Chuck!" She ran into his arms. "I heard the battle, and I was so worried."

"Sarah?" Chuck couldn't believe she was there. He pushed her back from him and held her by her shoulders. She quickly ran his hands along her arms, as he looked her over for any injuries. "You're really here. Are you alright? How did you escape? Is the baby?"

"Shush." She kissed him. "You're spiraling." She pulled back and looked him over. He had a fair amount of blood on him, and dust and dirt and his clothes were torn in several places. However, what unnerved her the most was the pistol holstered on his side.

"I… thought you were dead," Chuck had tears in his eyes. Then he simply collapsed at her feet. It was then that Casey ran up to them. He took in the scene and noticed Chuck collapsed, and Sarah distraught over his condition. She was kneeling beside him running her fingers through his hair. That is when Casey heard Sarah as well. She kept begging, "Chuck, talk to me. Just tell me what is wrong." Chuck kept saying over and over, "Please, still love me." She finally looked up and saw Casey. He shook his head, reached into one of his vest pockets, pulled out a tranq dart and stuck Chuck with the dart.

"Casey, what happened?"

"He thought you were dead. So did I. He snapped and," he stopped and took a deep breath before finishing. "Remember when I told you about what happened down at the train?" She nodded and gave a faint smile through her tears. She was beginning to understand what happened. "How he wasn't wired to be a killer like us. Well, we know that when push comes to shove, he can take someone out like he did Shaw. However, this wasn't like that, you weren't about to be killed, you were killed. So he did what I was going to do, he took out anyone in his path without hesitation, and with fierce accuracy. He saved Carina and killed Jill, but someone escaped, and he gave chase. Looks like he caught at least one of them, but it also seems he's still not wired like us."

"And he's scared I will not love him anymore." Sarah hated how she held him to a double standard all those years ago, while being drawn in by Shaw. She would find a way to fix her love. She had to find away. There was no way he was going back to the good doctor. "Casey, we need to keep Beckman in the dark to his condition."

"Come on. We need to oversee the cleanup, get that one to interrogation, and get Chuck and Carina some rest. He will be better after some rest, and as long as you're there when he wakes to reassure him, he will snap back. Then we need to find out how he went into Rambo mode with no emotions."

"Rambo mode?" Sarah raised her eyebrow.

"I kid you not, Sarah. Call him going all the other Chuck or Rambo or I don't know what, but he tore through the other guys like they were not even trained professionals. Just wait until we get back up there, and you see it for yourself."

"The other Chuck?"

"You know Norris?"

A few hours later when they loaded Chuck and Carina, both freshly sedated, on to the chopper, Sarah sat down put her head in her hands and hid her tears from everyone around her. Her Chuck had become death, and it looked like hell followed him. She prayed like she had done as a little girl, that God would not allow this to break her Chuck. As she prayed, Chuck was locked in a dream as the sedative wore off.

Hannah was kissing him. Hannah was beside him on the plane. Hannah was watching when he came back from taking care of Panzer and the stewardess. Hannah was giving him the full-court press. Then the scene switched to Shaw and Sarah, "My people are never alone." The view split like two sides of a television screen, on one side Shaw was calling Sarah Sam and putting the moves on her, and on the other side, Hannah was pressing Chuck.


	26. Operation COLD

**AN: Dissertation writing is time-consuming. Still not stopping the story. Hang with me, please. I read all the reviews, and I can honestly say your kindness is appreciated. I hope you're still reading and enjoy the latest chapter.**

Chapter 26 – Operation COLD

The sun slowly crept across the covers and began to warm the occupants of the bed. Chuck stirred slightly wanting to roll over away from the rays that touched his face, but he could not move. Sarah was against his side, and one leg draped over his legs and an arm across his chest. When he attempted to roll over, she pulled him tighter and moaned a little. Suddenly Chuck felt something nudge him in the side. He quickly moved over, waking Sarah, while looking under the covers for what nudged him. Sarah rolled over onto her back and then sat up. She looked at him trying to judge his emotional state. He looked like nothing happened yesterday, and he had not been sedated most of the afternoon and evening.

"Chuck, are you alright?"

"Of course, I just felt something nudge me, and…"

Just then Sarah moved her hand to her stomach and smiled. She gently rubbed her belly and blew her breath out in a calming shush sound.

"It was the baby?" Chuck asked her with his brows knit in curiosity.

Sarah nodded and motioned for him to feel. Chuck laid his hand flat on her stomach, and that his when he felt their child move against his hand. "That's amazing!" Chuck didn't realize how loud he was in his excitement.

"Yeah. Just think our love made this little one. You do know Chuck that I love you no matter what happens?"

"Of course, why would you ask that?" His eyes were narrowed, and he looked extremely confused. "Have you done something that would make me doubt that?"

"It's just after yesterday and all that happened I wanted you to know that I love you, and I understand all that you went through." Sarah's eyes looked sad as she touched Chuck's cheek.

"Look, babe. I did think that you and our future were gone in that missile strike, and I did determine right there I had nothing to lose, so I went headlong into the rescue and took down of the organization. I mean if I lost me, after losing you, but saved Carina than we would be together and so would John and Carina. Thankfully, we still took down Jill, saved Carina, captured a villain, and we're both, no make that all three of us are still alive." Chuck placed his hand on her stomach as he finished speaking, and then he put his hand under her chin and lifted her face up to meet his as he kissed her.

Chuck stood back up straight, looked over his shoulder, and then motioned with his head for her to follow. "Let's get something to eat, I'm starved."

Sarah stood there bewildered. He was acting like nothing traumatic happened yesterday. So she started to follow him down the stairs when heard Casey come in the house.

"Hey, Bartowski. How are you feeling this morning?" Sarah saw John measuring Chuck up.

"Yeah, why would I not be okay? Sarah's ok, Carina's rescued, and Jill's gone. You know I don't like killing, but sometimes I am beginning to understand the necessity of taking the villain out. I mean Shaw, Quinn, Roark, Jill, and knowing what we know now, even Bryce got what he deserved."

"Chuck?!" Sarah stopped halfway down the stairs with her mouth open in surprise.

"Sarah, look I know I was crying yesterday and worried, but this is no different than Shaw on the bridge. I know I promised I would not lose myself, and I'm not. I will still use tranqs before bullets, but honey, please understand, and don't ever stop loving me, but I'm going to do what needs to be done from this point forward. Now come here and give me a hug and a kiss. I need to go to our new headquarters to check on something, and then I need to talk to Ellie about the funeral."

"Chuck, you go ahead and check on whatever it's you need to check on. I need to talk to Ellie about some girl stuff, so I'll help her with the funeral arrangements. Anything you want in the memorial?"

"Besides, her name cleared and her star at Langley?" Sarah stared at Chuck. He just shrugged his shoulders, leaned over to kiss her, and then made his way out the door.

Casey looked at Sarah and asked, "What just happened?"

"I'm not sure, he woke up like that this morning. Look, John, I need to call Ellie about the funeral, a pregnancy question, and about Chuck. You can stick around and listen in, or you can go back to watching over Carina."

"Pregnancy questions?"

"Pregnancy questions."

"I'm out of here. Let me know if Chuck's noggin is scrambled or something." Casey grunted and then left.

Sarah took a deep breath and slowly released it, and then see pulled her cell phone out and dialed Ellie.

-0-

"Hey, Sarah!" Ellie sounded tired, but happy to talk to her sister-in-law.

"Hey, Ellie. I was calling to offer my help with Mary's service, and to speak with you about Chuck."

"Sarah, that would be great. I've been wondering if there are any government things we need to take care of to get mom buried properly, do you know of any?"

"Ellie, agents aren't soldiers. We don't have burial benefits even with the backlash from the Khost betrayal. However, that doesn't mean that the government does nothing, we just have to ask General Beckman."

"Could you do that for us?"

"Sure."

"Thanks, sis. So what is it with Chuck?"

Sarah furrowed her brow, and though Ellie couldn't see the consternation of her countenance, it didn't mean she didn't hear it in her pause, "Come on, Sarah, tell me!"

"Yesterday, we had a mission to rescue Carina, and he thought I was killed. He sort of snapped and went all Rambo, as John described it, on the enemy agents and he took no prisoners. When he realized I was alive, and what he had done he melted down, but this morning it's as if yesterday never happened."

"It worked! I'm so glad we added that feature in the latest update to both of you."

"What update? I don't remember either of us taking an upgrade."

"Of course, you don't. We performed the update during your last physicals, and another one of the test features kicked in and allowed you guys to sleep while your brains absorbed the stress of the upload, and part of that stress reducers is to not store the process in short term memory, so you don't recall it."

"Ok, I get it, I think. What is this other experiment you took on us lab rats?" Sarah tried to control the sarcasm in her voice but wasn't entirely successful.

"Sarah, calm down, it's not like that. We were worried about you. We know how the Intersect affected you before, and we didn't want any harm to come to you. By slowing the absorption rate and reducing the chances of recalling an upload, we're able to ensure that nothing bad happens to you. Since we had it in the plan, we went ahead and placed it in Chuck as well."

"Hmmm."

"Anyways, the other piece is two-fold, and both work like mild sedative blockers. Certain chemicals release to suppress extreme ranges of emotions for people learning to control their emotions. In particular, those emotions include anger and depression. We put it in to prevent someone pulling a Quinn on you and hijacking your memories, by allowing you to either separate from your personality until the crisis is over or by blocking things you're struggling with, like going all Rambo."

"So are you guys going for mad scientist or God?"

"Wow, Sarah. That's a bit harsh don't you think?"

"Ellie, I just watched the sweetest man I know detach from himself, go completely out of character, and now he's being blocked from dealing with the fallout. What happens if your defenses collapse? I know you'll be there to help, but it will be me holding him at night as he suffers nightmares, while trying to care for our baby."

"That's just it, Sarah. He remembers what he did, he remembers everything, it's just that the Intersect is helping him rationalize and deal with it as he emotionally heals. It's not like a damn will break free and you will be flooded with issues."

"It better not. I'm going to hope off here and get in touch with Beckman. I'll call back when I know more. El, I know you love us, and I know you want the best for us, but don't become one of them and try to rob us of who we really are for your own perceived greater good."

"I promise."

"Thanks."

-0-

Meanwhile, Chuck was down in the basement area of headquarters scripting a program to scrub old surveillance videos from Echo Park, Castle, and any other place he was recorded while transitioning from asset to agent. After about an hour, he leaned back, intertwined his fingers to stretch them, and then leaned forward and hit enter.

Immediately the computer began to pull the prescribed video files. In particular, the videos being scrubbed out were of Daniel Shaw and Hannah. As records began to compile, Chuck started opening them and reliving some of his worst days. He knew he had to push through this to get to the information he needed. He watched the mask mission, the night Hannah stayed over, and for the first time he saw Sarah struggling to watch that dinner as Shaw walked into the room. He finally realized how much he pushed her towards Shaw. Fortunately, they got past that voice in his head reminded him, and so he pushed forward and then it was there.

Shaw was on the phone, and he was talking to someone in the back alley of the Buy More. He began to zoom in on the shadows, and that's when he noticed her. It was Hannah just beyond the edge of the shadow. He adjusted the volume.

"Look, Daniel, if we're going to eliminate the ring, and establish control of all the intelligence community, we must separate them. You've got to play your part."

"She killed my wife! I want to shoot her and then turn him through hatred."

"It will not work. He can't function properly when his emotions are out of whack. That was proven in Prague."

"How do you know those reports aren't false?"

"I was there you walking block of wood. Remember I'm the analyst, the brains, and you're the brawn. What is it with you field agents? You're all body and physical attributes and no real thinking things through. Act first, think second. No wonder there are so many stars on the wall at Langley. So tell me the sequence."

"Fine! Seduce her away from him, get him to turn into a killer, leak the truth of my wife to the ring, let them capture me and reveal that, kill her, blame the ring, and then unleash him on the ring and then on the CIA."

"Exactly. In the meantime, I'm going to seduce him to make your job easier. Arrange the Panzer mission, and I'll be on the flight to make sure he survives. Just keep Walker from going on the mission. If we do this right, you might even look like a good guy in her eyes."

Chuck sat back. He closed his eyes in thought. His mind leaped forward to his final exam. He turned on the clip of Shaw watching over the mission from Castle while he and Sarah were staking out the Russian. Just as I thought, he was listening for the perfect opportunity to interrupt them. He shut off the viewer and began to think through how to tell Sarah they were played by Shaw all along, and that Hannah was the mastermind. Hannah is the mastermind behind all of this. He was about to walk away when he turned around. He walked up to the workstation, took a deep breath, and hit enter. The system was now running facial recognition searching for Hannah.

He stopped for just a moment and let the regret from many his actions wash over him. The last four years had seen so many mistakes, and opportunities wasted by poor decisions Chuck had made. He and Sarah should have been together sooner, had he been listening the night she agreed to a single bed cell (ok not in those words, but what else could she have meant when she asked, "Two beds?"). Better yet, if he had just talked to her at the station instead of trying not to break down and run with her. He Believe me, shook his head and thought, "Not this time, I'm going to talk to her."

-0-

As the sun came up, Chuck was once again in his new favorite place, or so it seemed. He found himself her the last two mornings. Once again, his thoughts were on what he had discovered two days earlier. He still had not talked to Sarah about his discovery. When he got home, he found her talking to Ellie about Beckman's assistance with their mother's funeral. He decided then that he would wait until it was over. Finally, the day was here. He couldn't explain it, but every time he started to get upset about the past week and all that he had done or what had happened to his mother, he just couldn't. He could think in analytical terms, but his emotions seemed suppressed.

Anyways, he dragged himself back upstairs and stopped in the doorway to their room. He stood there watching Sarah sleep. He loved how the covers draped over her body, and he could see every curve from her shoulders to legs as she lay there on her side. He saw the covers cupping her growing belly, and was amused to see her with the covers tucked under her chin. She looked so peaceful. He really didn't want to disturb her so he went back downstairs and stared out the window of the kitchen.

He lost track of time and was startled when Sarah approached him from behind. He turned and looked at her. He couldn't help but smile. Her hair was a bit of a mess, and she looked half asleep as she plodded her way to the coffee pot. Chuck watched as she poured herself some go juice and smiled at him.

"Good morning, my love."

"Morning, Chuck. How's my sweet husband holding up?"

"I'm ok. I'm just ready to get this over with. You know we never had to bury dad."

"I know, sweetie. I know. At least Beckman got the government to endorse the new benefits that passed a few months ago. That helped with the arrangements."

"Yeah, I know. Anyways, let's get ready." Chuck started to leave the kitchen but then he turned back around. He rubbed his hand over their carving in the door frame and then smiled. "Sarah, I love you. Please, stay close to me today."

"Honey, are you sure you're ok?"

"Yeah, I just got a lot on my mind, and I want you near." Chuck finally walked away, and Sarah watched his retreating form.

-0-

Chuck looked over the crowd of people present. He noticed that most of them were there to either support his sister or himself. Employees from the old Buy More were there, as well as some of the medical staff from the hospital. Then there was those whom Chuck wanted present. He looked at Sarah, Ellie, Devon, Casey, Carina, Emma, Joe, and that's when he noticed the two people approaching, Alex and Morgan. She was pushing him to the graveside service.

He turned his attention to the closed casket with the flag draped over the lid. He held his emotions in and barely heard anything the local preacher said in an attempt to comfort the family. How do you comfort people who lost someone, regained them for a short time, to have them yanked away again? Anyways, it didn't matter, his mother was gone, and she wouldn't be returning. So he turned back to scanning the area while appearing to look at the casket.

Sarah watched him from the corner of her eye. She knew he was alert for something beyond the horizon. If was not for the funeral she wouldn't have let him believe he was keeping something from her. Since he returned from their headquarters a few days ago, he had been on edge and surprisingly inside himself. Rather than take his normal Chuck route he was holding back, and it was starting to bother her. Now he was scanning the horizon like he was looking for an enemy to appear at any moment. In some ways, she was proud of him, and in other ways, she was so upset that he wasn't confiding in her.

They continued to go through the motions, and soon they were shaking hands of the well-wishers. Finally, Morgan rolled up to Chuck. Chuck looked at his friend and his eyes filled with tears. "Morgan, I'm so sorry all this happened to you, and that I got you caught up in all of this."

Morgan started to speak, and his voice cracked, but after a moment he began talking, "Chuck, this is not your fault. Sure it would be easy to blame you or Sarah for dragging me into the spy life, but you didn't drag me into the life. I wanted in, and I enjoyed those years. I'm thankful to be alive, to still have Alex, and to have an ongoing purpose in life."

"What ongoing purpose?"

Casey walked over and placed his hand on Morgan's shoulder, "He's going to continue to coordinate our efforts and to provide over watch of operations from headquarters."

"Yeah, man! With my chair and my brain, I'm like Professor Xavier."

"Only a little hairier." Chuck gave a small laugh.

A little while later the crowd dispersed, and Sarah took Chuck home. As they walked through the door, he dropped his keys in the bowl and went to sit on the couch. "Do you want something from the kitchen?" Sarah called over her shoulder as she walked into the kitchen. "Nah, I'm good." Chuck closed his eyes and decided now was as good a time as any to talk.

"Hey, Sarah. We need to talk."

Sarah was in the kitchen, and she smiled at hearing his last statement. Finally, he was going to open up to her. Walking in with a cup of water, she sat beside him and put her feet in this lap and wiggled her toes. He took her right foot in his hands and began.

"Sarah, when I had my break, I saw someone flee the cabin. I was sure that it was Hannah. The next day when I went out, I pulled archived video from when she and Shaw were in our lives."

Sarah interrupted, "Why would you pull video of Shaw from back then?" She didn't like to think about her time spent with him.

"Calm down. I saw some intimate moments between you guys, but that's in the past. What we need to concentrate on are these videos." He handed her his iPhone, and she watched the videos.

"Chuck, we were so stupid to let those two play us. I'm so sorry. I wasn't supposed to be conned. After all, once you know all the cons."

"Believe me, I understand. It's not like I enjoyed seeing the video of me having dinner with her and my family, while also seeing the video of you watching. You looked so sad before Shaw walked in and took advantage of the situation."

"Chuck, let's forget all that." She placed his hands on both sides of her stomach where he could feel their child doing summersaults in her belly, "And concentrate on now and all that we have."

"Believe me, that is all I want, but we have to find her and take her down. She's responsible for all of the current pain."

"I agree, but for tonight, let's rest. Let's just be us. You'll be my Chuck. Sweet, nerdy, and an excellent masseuse." Again, she was wiggling her toes.

He simply smiled, "And you can be my Sarah. A real girl filled with dreams of fairy tale love, under the shell of a superspy. Then in the morning, we inform Casey."

"No, Chuck. In the morning we start Operation COLD."

"Operation COLD?"

"Operation COLD. Chuck's Old Lovers Die."

"That's not funny."

"I'm not laughing.


	27. I'll Tell You What I Want

**AN: As promised, I will not abandon a story. It has been crazy writing my dissertation. I am at the phase where we write the first chapter and design our research. I defend my design in two weeks. Anyways, enjoy and review.**

Chapter 27 – I'll Tell You What I Want

As the morning light streamed through the window onto their bed, Chuck reached across the bed to rub Sarah's back, but she wasn't there. He felt around for a moment and realized the bed was not even warm. For a moment he recalled that time when he wasn't working for Beckman, and Casey and her were gone on a mission. It nearly drove him crazy back then, but he knew she wasn't gone on any missions, but he was curious where she was this morning.

Swinging his legs off the bed, he stood, and made his way down the stairs and looked around. She wasn't at the table, in the living room, in the kitchen, or out back in the yard. He looked in the garage, and her car was still there, as was his, so he knew where she was this morning. He made his way to their special headquarters extension or the Pit as he liked to call it. It was not as functional as headquarters, but it allowed remote access, safety, an arsenal, and other features a spy company would need to operate at the basic level.

Sure enough, there she was, sitting on one of the high rolling computer chairs logging information into the database link. That is when Chuck noticed that she had a search going of the greater Sacramento area and the surrounding 500-mile radius. She was looking for Hannah.

"Morning, Sarah."

She didn't jump or start, even though she felt her heart rate pick up. Chuck startled her, and she was not happy about that. He was getting too good at being a spy. "Morning, lover," she responded with a very exuberant smile.

"You're chipper this morning."

"I'm trying. I knew we have some tough days ahead of us, but I never realized how easy someone could hide. It's been over a month."

"Well since it being over a month can't be a reason for being chipper, I must assume this new level of joy isn't mission based."

Sarah looked into his eyes and knew she needed to dial it back a little. She was excited about finding Hannah and taking her down. All she wanted was to raise her family in peace.

"Baby, your mother's death is hard on all of us. My mom is underground with Molly, off the grid, and we are trusting Joe to keep them safe. Casey is caring for Carina's minor injuries and her mental health. Devon, Ellie, and Clara are close by and seem safe. So that leaves us free to continue our mission. Of course, once we find Hannah we need a plan to stop her and her Syndicate of Team Intersect haters."

"Ok. So let's prioritize. Who is left that we are aware of, with Hannah's team?"

"Well, there is the guy who escaped the CTU building. Then there is the Ring Director who broke out of jail. Richardson is out there, and now there is Hannah."

"At this point, we think that Hannah is the brains, and we're pretty sure that Richardson is the money man. I'm not sure how the Director fits into this group, and we still have our unknown person. So I say we cut off their resources as we seek out the head."

"Are you saying we go after Richardson?"

"That is exactly what I'm suggesting. Believe me, I want Hannah in a terrible way, but…"

As Chuck looked at Sarah he saw her emotions flicker through her eyes and for a moment he saw jealousy and hurt.

"Sarah, you know that's not what I meant. I want to take her down and put her away for good. You know the damage she has caused us, and I'm ready to see her fall."

"Chuck, I know what you meant, but…" She hesitated and then went on speaking, "she came between us during a rough time, and I was so stubborn that I opened the door for her and Shaw to hurt us."

"Honey, I didn't do us any favors back then either. You know it should have been me holding you in that vault. I was so jealous of Shaw, and you appeared to be enamored with him, just like with Cole and Bryce, and I… I wanted you happy, so I tried to find happiness as well."

Sarah had a tear slip from her eye, and Chuck loving reached over and rubbed it away with his thumb. Sarah caught his hand before he could withdraw it and held it against her cheek. "I love you, Chuck."

"And, I love you!" He kissed her softly and drew her into a hug.

"You know I used to be able to get a lot closer and lay my head on your shoulder."

Chuck smiled, "You'll be able to again, but you know, for a few years this little one…" as he spoke he placed his hand on her belly, "...will be between most of the time."

Sarah nuzzled Chuck's neck, "Not at night." Chuck gave a small laugh and shiver as her lips tickled his neck.

"Um... Right. Sarah, we need to get busy."

"I'm trying."

"We need to get busy working."

She pulled back and pouted, "You're no fun."

"Oh, stop. You're the one trying to plan an op, not me."

"Right, I almost forgot. Operation C.O.L.D. Let's go, Chuck, we need to head downstairs and start planning."

"No, we need to go over to the offices. The remote access is fine, but it's not sufficient for what we need. VPN connections are great, and all, but how many systems have we compromised through remote connections?"

"You know sometimes compromise is a good thing."

"That's not what you said the first two years together."

"You know what, I was just playing, but that's mean. Let's go. Grab your stuff. Call Casey and Carina, and then get in the car."

Chuck laughed, "Why, Agent Walker, where've you been? I missed you. Do you want me to stay in that car?"

"Like that would ever happen. Come on, husband. We've got to make the world safer for our little Bartowski."

Chuck's eyes darkened, and his face slid into a look of grim resolve. Sarah knew she just pushed his over-protective button, and inwardly, she smiled. As long as Chuck breathed, her baby would be safe. Inside Chuck lurked a beast generally kept at bay. A monster that would destroy anyone and anything that sought to harm his family. In its toddler years, the beast drove him from the car, and as a teen, it stopped short of killing Shaw, but after Quinn and the recent events it became an adult, but little did they know, that after Jill and the lake, it bordered on being a monster.

Chuck grabbed his gear and took her hand. "Let's go. You drive. We'll get there quicker, and then,…"

She had remained in place, and now he felt the tug on his arm. He looked back at her and then down to her belly where she was looking after making initial eye contact. "Right, I'll drive, and then, we'll get busy. It looks like you're calling Casey and Carina. Let's go, Walker."

Chuck had taken but a step before he stumbled from the well-placed kick to his rear end. "Think you're funny? Well, it still looks like I can kick your butt, honey."

He just rubbed his seat and laughed as they walked out together to the car.

-0-

John and Carina made their way through the lobby of Carmichael Industries and were surprised when Morgan rolled out to meet them. "John, Carina, good morning. How are you guys?"

"Morgan, what're you doing here? Where's my little girl?"

"She's in her office doing her thing to make sure everything is the legal thing. She wanted to ensure there would be no legal backlash on the takedown of Roberts."

"And you? What're you doing?"

"First, as the logistics specialist, I'm putting in remodeling orders to equip this place for someone like me better. Then, I'm going into the lair to start running an analysis on Richardson's finances to see if we can't find a point of compromise in the money trail."

Carina looked at Morgan and smiled, "You know, Martin, I'm impressed you didn't just crawl in a hole and sulk away there."

"It's…. Funny! I guess I'll always be Martin to you. Anyways, I can't live like that, I thought I could, but it's not fair to Alex, and just because I'm down now with what we believe is severe nerve damage, doesn't mean I'll be down forever. You guys motivate me, and if I can be just a measure of what you are and help, then I want that. I never want to wear a green shirt again, even in my own mind."

"Hmmm. We'll come on then 'Professor X' let's get to work. Alex…" Casey shouted, "your man is headed down with Carina and me." Casey began to push the chair towards the elevator, so he never saw the satisfaction and smile on Morgan's face, and Morgan never saw the emotions in Casey's eyes. Carina walked behind them as her heart swelled with love for both men.

-0-

"Chewy!" Chuck could barely hold back his excitement on seeing his best friend when the elevators doors opened. Sarah followed behind him smiling at her husband's moments of innocence.

"Han!" Morgan spun his chair around and rolled over to meet his friend.

"Morgan, what're you doing here?"

"You know, I thought I would come here and help track down the bad guys and assist you all in bringing some payback in the form of dark site justice."

"Dark site. No, Morgan. This is Operation COLD and the only holes anyone is being dropped in are six feet deep." Sarah laid her hand on his shoulder as she spoke.

"Operation COLD?" Carina asked with a raised eyebrow as she looked up from the report she was reading.

"Yep! Chuck's Old Lovers Die," Sarah declared boldly.

"Well, that's cold," Casey chuckled. He secretly liked that name. It was snarky, and snarky was always fine when directed at someone other than himself.

"Ok, enough about my poor decisions being eliminated. Let's find Hannah and the others as quick as we can. I don't know about you all, but I'm tired of waiting on Richardson to slip and lead us somewhere. It's time we take him down and force him to tell us where people are located." Chuck walked to the computer and brought the screen up.

"Chuck, what do we know? I mean we know that Sarah's pregnant due any day, so we need to hurry. We know that Richardson is town and attending a Halloween Costume Gala."

"Wait! We don't know that " Chuck interrupted.

"Sure we do." Morgan pulled up the guest list and the flight registry.

"Ok. I guess we do. So how do we approach this?" Chuck looked around the room.

"Well, Sarah approaching him is out. There is no way with her delivering any day that she can possibly make any kind of connection with him." Casey was looking right at her belly as he spoke.

"No, but she can still be inside as eyes. We can go as who we are, the heads of Carmichael Industries, and provide backup and oversight."

"Ooh, I like that, but I don't think so. I don't want to get dressed up and put on heels in my condition."

"Fine, I can go by myself." Chuck looked at her, and then back to the monitors.

"No! Remember no secrets, no lies, and no missions without each other." Sarah actually picked her foot up and put it down while making her statement.

"Ok, what's your suggestion?"

"Casey and Carina can go in and approach him, and we'll stay in the van together providing over watch."

Carina stood there for a moment looking at the floor before speaking, "I can't do that yet. I… I'm scared of being captured again. The last time really bothered me, and now with…." She turned and walked away.

Everyone watched her leave the main conference room and head to her office upstairs.

"Casey, I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, Sarah. She will not tell me what's bothering her, but she keeps having nightmares."

"I think I know." Everyone turned and looked at Morgan. "Don't you guys see? She's in love for the first time, and she just realized she can be taken from the one she loves or worse, have him taken away."

"Wow, you are like Dr. Phil, buddy." Chuck shook his head and kept staring down at his friend.

"Let me talk to her." Sarah started walking away. "It's an area where I've got experience. There've been times when I was absolutely scared to let Chuck out of my sight."

-0-

Sarah made her way upstairs and knocked on Carina's door. When she didn't answer, Sarah walked in and looked around. Carina's office held a large desk, several book cases, a leather couch, and had a large window overlooking the street. It was there that Sarah saw Carina. She was staring out at the street, watching people.

"Carina, what's wrong?" Sarah asked softly as she approached the other drop you dead, gorgeous spy.

"Sarah, I'm not sure I want this anymore." Sarah's eyes widened as she stared at Carina's back. She never thought she would hear those words from her.

"What do you mean?"

"Casey," was the only word she was able to choke out.

"You don't want Casey anymore?"

"No. I mean I do want John. I don't want to lose him to the spy life."

"Have you guys talked?"

"About the future?" Carina turned and looked at Sarah. Sarah had never seen her so vulnerable.

"Yeah." Sarah nodded.

"No. I don't want to scare John off." She turned back to the window and then spun around again. "You know spies don't fall in love."

"Umm… spy," Sarah says pointing to herself, "and definitely in love."

"You're still a spy?"

"Yes, I am!"

"Then why back out of a mission where you just have to stand around? I mean wear some flats and suck it up."

"Fine, I will, and if I do, you'll be there as well. Inside establishing the contact."

"Fine, let's party, Sarah."

-0-

The night of the gala arrived. Team Intersect was in full costume. Sarah walked out wearing a maroon sweater, a flowery blue top, and jeans with a reddish brown wig on, while Chuck wore an earth tone pair of jeans, and a plaid shirt. Casey was dressed in a desert battle dress uniform with Major rank, a US Air Force service tape, and the name tape Mitchell. Carina was dressed as Black Widow.

"Ok is everyone ready to go?" Casey was asking everyone, but he was only looking at Carina.

"Yeah, let's get a move on." Carina never removed her eyes from Casey. "You look amazing in that uniform."

"Thanks, I would have chosen a Marine uniform, but someone might recognize me as a Marine."

"I bet you were a real animal as a Marine." Chuck quipped, and Sarah giggled.

"Nice. Let's go, moron."

"Casey, after all, this time, you're still going to call me that?"

"Like Led Zeppelin, a classic never goes out of style," Casey laughed as he headed up the stairs.

"And…" Chuck heard the door close, and then he nodded his head and said, "…He would know, considering he was a young man when they formed. Ouch!" Chuck looked left and right to see both Carina and Sarah lowering their hands. He crossed his arms like he was hugging himself and rubbed his arms.

Sarah raised an eyebrow and fixed her eyes on his, "Be nice!"

Chuck shivered and smiled, "You know, babe, you're going to be one scary momma. Our children will never get out of line."

"Somehow I doubt that, especially if their half the trouble magnet you've been over the years." Sarah slapped his cheek lightly and smiled before turning on her heel and following Casey.

"Carina, are you good?" Chuck held her hand and was looking at her with genuine concern.

"Too late." Carina smiled.

"Too late?"

"I offered you a chance to find out all those years ago and nooo, you…" Carina started deflecting until Chuck cocked his head and stared down at her.

Taking a deep breath, she looked into his eyes, "Yeah. I just want to end this and the people trying to keep us from our lives. Well, let's get moving my favorite brother-in-law."

She hooked an arm around Chuck's arm, and they walked out together arm and arm. Chuck walked right up to Casey with Carina on his arm and presented her to him. "You know you once did this for me and one day I hope to do this in a more permanent way for you as well." Both Casey's and Carina's eyes went wide. Then the moment was broken by the heavy laughing from off to the side. Everyone looked to see Sarah cradling her belly and laughing so hard tears were coming from her eyes.

"Alright, enough humor and lady feelings, let's focus on this mission. Alex you and hot wheels ready?"

Across the lobby, Morgan and Alex began moving out to the van. About thirty minutes later the team entered the gala in two shifts about five minutes apart.

"Crude, how're we going to find this guy with all the masks and costumes? I mean look at this place, this is Hollywood, and every actor and actress must be here not to mention the other well to do people of this city. We got Marilyn, Elvis, Capitan America, Dr. Evil, Dean and Sam Winchester, and over there is Sam Winchester and Second Ruby…." Chuck was now pointing.

"Actually," Sarah stated leaning into Chuck, "I think that is actually Jared Padalecki and Genevieve Cortes."

"Well, that explains why they look so much like Sam and Ruby."

"Knock it off you two and get busy mingling so we can find this scum bag." Casey was now all business scanning the crowd.

"Chuck, isn't that the Ring Director?" She stated looking over his shoulder. Chuck grabbed her and spun her like they were dancing and looked over her head.

"It's either him or a guy dressed as Crowley," Chuck whispered in her ear with the transmitter. "Let's get closer and find out." Chuck and Sarah danced over closer and just as they were getting close their target moved to exit through a door leading out of the ballroom.

"Let's follow him." Sarah tugged on Chuck's shirt and pulled him through the door to only stop short. They were face to face with three men, and one of them left them both floored.

"Well, well, well. How're my old friends?"

They kept staring at the man speaking, "How are you alive?"

"Come on, do you think I would let a small thing like an explosion stop me. How have you been Samantha?"

"Langston?" Sarah was in near shock.

"In the flesh, and ready to see my enforcer return to her proper place. Richardson, do the honors."

Just as he reached out to grab Sarah, Chuck flashed, and that's when everything went crazy. Chuck stuck a nerve bundle under Richardson's arm that dropped him to the floor with his right arm limp. Sarah likewise flashed and doubled over in pain. Not noticing Chuck continued his assault spinning to his left and delivering an elbow strike to the back of the Director's head ending his night. When he turned around, he saw Graham with Sarah in his grasps. Chuck looked at the floor and realized that her water had broken.

"That's it, Bartowski. Stop right there, or this gets real ugly, real fast. Samantha needs medical care, and my facility has the proper care, or you can continue this standoff and risk the health of our child."

"What do you want?" Chuck screamed.

"What I've wanted since we discovered you could hold the Intersect. Samantha's abilities and your skills mixed."

At that moment, Sarah's heart sank as she the contraction ended and she heard his words. This man wanted her baby, just like he wanted her all those years ago. She couldn't let that happen, so she did the one thing she could think of, she flashed on nerve locations. Dropping like she had another contraction she struck his vastus medialis creating severe pain through his leg and buckling his knee.

Chuck took the opportunity to strike. He grabbed Langston in a sleeper hold and dropped him for the night. Moments later Casey came through and took in the scene. Immediately he went into command mode. "Chuck, get your wife to the hospital. We got this."


	28. Seven Months and Still Searching

**It has been a long time. I know that I promised to not stop until it was finished. I am not stopping and it is not finished. I have been working a lot, trying to write my dissertation prospectus, and training a new principal at our school. Additionally, I had some health issues along the way that needed attention. Summer is here! A little more time to write, and a little less stress! I hope you enjoy this chapter. Sorry again for the long delay.**

Chapter 28-

Had it been nearly two months since that night? Chuck looked down in the bassinet at the form of his sleeping son, David. David Bartowski was born November 2, 2012, and at nearly two months old, he was already showing the signs of being a good mixture of his mother and father. He had these sandy colored curls and bright blue eyes, and a smile that knocked people out. Chuck didn't care that Casey said it was just him passing gas. He was still smiling, and in their world, that was sometimes more valuable than gold. He was so lost in thought that he didn't hear Sarah behind him. She walked up and placed her head on his shoulder with her arms around his waist.

"You know we can't watch him sleep forever?" She whispered in Chuck's ear.

Chuck just smiled and turned his head to kiss her on the temple and then allowed himself to be pulled to bed. Climbing in he looked at Sarah lying there next to him, "Do you think it's time to move him to his room and the crib?"

"Chuck, I just don't feel comfortable with that yet. You know what dangers are out there and we've only just begun to make headway to eliminating that threat."

Chuck nodded and lay there thinking about the last two months, and all the highs and lows they brought.

Late November 1, 2012

Chuck was not prepared for this night. The contractions were about 5 minutes apart, and he did not realize it could take hours before their child entered the world. He walked with her and supported when contractions hit. He held her hand, stroked her hair, but most of all he talked her down. Chuck had heard horror stories of women cursing, threatening, and generally blaming their husbands for…. Well everything, like they didn't say yes and enjoy themselves. Well, some might have jerks for husbands who only cared about themselves, but anyone who knew Chuck and Sarah knew that any form of love between them was mutual and equal. Still, he had prepared himself for the scary form of Sarah. Some version close to when he fell through the skylight on the Augusto mission.

Chuck was not prepared for this night. She practically begged him not to leave. She pleaded for him to hold her. He supported her as she walked the halls trying to speed up the contractions. Do a lap and then hook back to monitor for a few minutes, then do another lap. She wouldn't let him leave for ice. Instead, a nurse got it for her. Finally, on one trip to the ice machine, while the nurse was out, Chuck asked, "Sarah, why are clinging to me like this? This is not like you, and it's kinda freaking me out."

"Chuck, listen…" she had to pause to catch her breath from the contraction. "Graham is alive and evil. Our unknown enemies just increased exponentially, and I am extremely vulnerable right now. You can't leave me and the baby, I can't defend us."

That was it! Chuck was in full protection mode. Nothing happened that night, well, Chuck didn't know at that time that something did indeed happen, it wasn't until many years later that a few shared drinks in a relaxed atmosphere allowed Carina to share what happened and for Casey to become embarrassed.

Casey and Carina delivered Graham to the holding facility within their compound. Once they knew he was secure, Casey left Carina to watch over him while he went to the hospital.

"Casey, I am going, and you can stay. Sarah is my sister…"

"Cover sister."

"Whatever, she is my friend, and I should be there with her. She needs someone to look after her."

"Negative. You're still recovering, and we don't know what danger might show itself at the hospital. I, however, am in perfect shape for dealing with some bad guys."

Carina took a moment to think about it. "Fine." She huffed as she sat back down in her chair and decided to give in knowing John was right.

Back at the hospital, while Sarah was delivering her son, John Casey was keeping watch on their floor. To say that that the Graham situation had sat him on edge was an understatement. In fact, if Carina had not tapped into the security cameras she would have never believed that Casey tranqued two orderlies, a nurse, a civilian visitor and three Syndicate goons that showed up to take the Bartowskis. She often wondered what all those people thought when they woke up in the same room together.

In the recovery room, Chuck was amazed. He sat beside Sarah and David and watched them sleep. His son was snuggled into his mommy's side, and she had him pulled close. He couldn't take his eyes off the sight. They looked so beautiful. He could almost let out an Ellie squeal. He rolled his neck as he heard the light knock on the door.

"Speak of the devil," Chuck called out as Ellie stuck her head in the room. "Hey sis, what're you doing here?"

"I just came by to check-in on you guys and to give you a break," Ellie spoke as she glanced over her shoulder. Carina walked in behind her.

"Hey, Carina. Look everyone's asleep. Let's step out in the hallway." Chuck motioned with his head, and everyone followed. "What's up?"

"Casey sent me to here. Three guys came here last night, but he intercepted them. He needs you and your brain at the Lair. I'll stay here and keep watch."

"I'll stay as well," Ellie added.

"Ok." Chuck just nodded and went back inside. When they followed, they saw him leaned over the bed talking to Sarah, "I'll be back. I love you, both of you."

-0-

Chuck walked the hallway with Casey behind him. Stopping in front of the door, he took a deep breath and punched in the code. There before him sat Langston Graham former spymaster. Graham looked up and smiled.

"Good morning, Mr. Bartowski. How is our future little spy doing?"

"Langston, I would say it's good to see you, but then I would be lying, and I was taught never to tell a lie."

"Kind of goes against being a spy doesn't, Chuck?"

Casey watched the two through the observation window with interest. He was recording this session, but everyone knew the tapes would never leave the building. Even still he was surprised by the even coldness in Chuck's voice when he responded.

"You're right. I guess I'm a rare type of spy. The kind that tells the truth or simply doesn't let people know. I've learned a secret is not a lie, and you don't have to answer someone, but in your case, I will tell you what I'm thinking. I'm thinking you're going to die very slowly in this room telling me every one of your secrets, and then I'm going to present the tape to Beckman and my wife as a present. So, where should we begin?"

Casey turned from the equipment to the window just in time to see Chuck flash and then drop his heel on the top of Graham's right knee. The sound of ligaments popping was evident just before Graham screamed in pain.

"Now that we know you'll never run again. Tell me all about your plans and the plans of those you are working for or with."

"Go to…" The words were never finished. The next sound to come from Graham was the noise of more ligaments popping as Chuck shattered the structural integrity of his left shoulder with a well-placed .45 caliber hollow point round.

"I must warn you that you need to be nice. Dead men have no rights, and you sir, died a long time ago in an explosion. That means that there are no rules in here, so don't think for a minute, I'm who I once was, or that I'm bound by some code of conduct. I'm a husband and father, and though I'm not normally like this, you and people like you have pushed me to this point. If I may, I would like to quote the character John Rambo here, 'when you're pushed, killing is as easy as breathing,' and you, Langston, are about to witness a man who has been pushed far enough."

John Casey had stopped recording. He was busy preparing to write anything that came from this session, but he was no longer recording. No one, not even Sarah, would know about this session. It would be something that Chuck and he took to their graves, and it would never be spoken of once it ended. When asked, the only answer ever given was that Graham gave them the information they needed. However, it would be the lowest point in Chuck's life. Yet he knew that to protect his family, it was what Chuck needed to do.

-0-

Chuck was tired. He and Sarah had been learning to adjust to caring for their son while Casey and Carina hunted down the leads given to them by Graham. Graham had breathed his last providing insight into the inner workings of the Syndicate. His information revealed an organization comprised of high-level spies and specialist who were bent on establishing a militant rule. How many more nights could he stare at the ceiling patterns or look over to the red light glowing on the baby monitor, carefully listening to the sound of David breathing. Looking at his sleeping wife, he decided to sneak out of bed and do some deeper research in locating Richardson. The one thing that had frustrated him was how in November Graham poured his information out, and then as the weeks stretched out into months and the seasons changed. Seven months later, it was summer and they were no closer to locating the man responsible for the capital being used by this rogue group to not only threaten freedom but the life of his family. He had lost his mother, father, and a piece of himself over the years. For a time, Sarah had been taken from him, and why? Because Fulcrum, Volkoff, and the Ring were portions of this group and they all wanted super spies to breed and build an army to control the populace of the world by controlling the information of the world. He was tired, but he fired up the computer anyways.

As he searched, he began tracing money trails throughout a series of transfers and business fronts. As the hours of the night began to dwindle and the morning quickly approached, Chuck began to think it was going to be another useless night, and then it happened. A file popped up, and as he scanned the document, he realized that he had just found a break. He soon became so engrossed in reading that he nearly lost it when Sarah wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek.

"Good morning, Chuck."

"Hey, babe. You scared me, but I managed to not wake the baby up this time. Which reminds me, are you ever going to cease having ninja skills?"

"Not likely. When we're old and gray, I'll still be able to sneak up on you."

"Sure. I'll be deaf. The question is will you be able to sneak up on the grandkids?"

"Hmmm, grandkids. I love the sound of that. What have you found to keep our grandchildren safe?"

"How do you know I found something?"

"I was able to sneak up on you and you not notice."

"I did find something. There is a lot of money flowing in and out of this bank in the middle of….." Chuck delayed as he clicked his mouse, "Dallas."

"Dallas. You mean Texas?"

"Yeah, the 'Big D.'"

Sarah leaned over and looked at the screen. It looks like this bank is the epicenter of activity."

"Comerica seems to have several accounts that appear to be what we've been looking for all these months. I am going to prepare a flight to go look it over."

"Wait a minute. You are not going alone. Remember, no lies, no secrets, and no missions without me."

"I thought it was no missions by myself. I was going to get Carina to go with me."

"Oh, is that right. The wife gets to stay behind why someone else goes along and pretends to be the wife?"

"Not just someone. It's Carina."

"Oh, and that makes it better."

"You know you said that to me on the first day we saw each other."

"Don't change the subject. You are not going alone. I have not been away from this house in months. I love our son, but Chuck, I am going stir crazy."

"Ok. I will see if Ellie can keep David for a few days while we fly out, look around, and then fly back."

"Now that sounds like a plan." Sarah smiled as she walked away. When she looked back, she saw Chuck watching her, so she placed a little more sway in her hips and said, "I am heading back to bed, if someone was inclined to join me."

Chuck practically knocked over the chair as he rose and followed, "I might know someone."

-0-

California is hot, and it is not uncommon to have high temperatures in Los Angeles during June, but LA has an ocean breeze. Dallas on the other hand, well Dallas was just hot. They had landed at DFW airport, claimed their luggage, and rode a transport bus over to the rental garage. Why, considering they owned their own jet, both were qualified pilots, and they could have had an agency vehicle waiting for their arrival? They were trying to fly under the radar. They were not Chuck and Sarah Carmichael. They were Charles and Sarah Charles. It seemed she was never going to let him live that fiasco down. Yet, here they are. Walking hand in hand into a bank that may very well hold the information that they need to finally end the threat against their lives.

"Hi, can I help you?" The receptionist greeted as they entered the lobby of the bank.

"Why yes, I think you can, darling. My name is Charles, but people call me Charlie, and this is my beloved, Sarah. We are the Charleses, and we would like to talk to someone about moving a business account of ours from Washington, DC to a little closer to home."

"Well, I am sure someone can help you. If you would just fill these out, and I will get you fixed up with one of our account specialists."

"Thank you. You hear that Sarah, they're going to get us fixed up with a specialist."

"I heard her, Charlie. Now, sweetheart, don't forget that we need to make sure that we also get a safety deposit box to ensure that all our oil deeds are kept nice and safe." Sarah was playing up the part and enjoying herself when she noticed the men coming in the bank. From the look of the suits, their haircuts, and deportment, she knew she was looking at agents of some sort. "Come here, baby and give me a hug. I am so excited that was are going to have our money closer to home."

As Chuck leaned in to give her a hug, she whispered, "We have agents just entering the bank."

"Are you sure? I didn't flash. Did you flash?"

"No, but look at them and use your spy training. Don't rely on the Intersect. Trust your instincts."

"You're right. I wonder who they work for, and what they're doing here."

Just then the receptionist interrupted their whispered conversation, "Mr. Mallory is available to see you."

"Wonderful. Shall we go, Sarah?"

"I'll be right there. I need to use the ladies room."

"Of course, you don't mind if my wife catches up?" Chuck stated more than asked.

"No, sir. She can join us in a moment. Mrs. Charles, the ladies room is just down the hall and the second door on the left."

"Thank you. I'll be just a minute, Charlie." As she leaned in to hug him again, "I am going to try and lift some identification off those guys." Chuck kissed her cheek, "Be careful."

Sarah smiled as she walked away. Moving through the bank, she closed the distance between her and the men standing in line. As she passed, she applied just enough pressure on the outside of her foot to snap her heel off. Of course, this gave her an excuse to stumble into the men. She quickly lifted their credentials while apologizing for being clumsy. With their credentials secured, she walked into the office.

"Mrs. Charles, I am glad you could join us. Please, be seated." Mr. Mallory then pointed to the empty seat next to Chuck. "Charles. I'm sorry. Charlie tells me that you want to transfer money from your bank in DC to here and open a safety deposit box."

"Well if that is what Charlie wants, he knows best how to take care of us."

"Ok then, let's get this party started."

"Yes, let's." Sarah and Chuck both smiled. It was just a short time later that they exited the building and crossed the street to their car.

"Ok, what do you have?" Chuck was leaning over trying to look at the wallets in Sarah's lap.

"Just drive. We'll look at them in a minute. Drive to the hotel, and we don't forget to use anti-surveillance methods when driving."

"Yes, dear. Anything else I need to do as we head to the hotel?"

"Yes. Drive the speed limit. We don't need any zealous cops looking too closely at us."

"Got it."

-0-

Back in the hotel room, Chuck and Sarah were looking up the agents in the CIA and NSA databases. None of them were coming up despite having non-forged credentials in both agencies.

"Sarah, should we inform Beckman?"

"No, Chuck. It is clear that they have been deleted from the files, and that there is a mole in our organization. For seven months people have been ahead of us, and it is time to find out what is going on and who might be in control right now."

"Ok. No Beckman. Hey, where are you going?"

"Come on. It is time to locate these guys and tail them."

-0-

It didn't take long before they were following the mystery agents to an abandoned building on the outskirts of town. It was there that they saw the en get out of their black SUV and enter the building.

Chuck and Sarah entered through an open window on the far side of the building. As they approached the meeting room, they were not prepared for the next revelation in this big mix of people from their lives.

"Alright, mates. What were you able to find out at the bank?"

"Sir Barker, you were right. It looks like the bank is the center of all that is wrong."

"Of course, I was right. Now if you'll forgive me. Chuck, Sarah, come out. I know you're here and hiding to find out who my men are and why they are not in your database. Come on, I know you're there. Come out and say hi to your old pal, Cole."

Chuck and Sarah looked at one another and then slowly emerged from the shadows. "Barker," Sarah spoke as they exited.

"Barker? Come on love, you can call me Cole. Especially, after all that, we went through together."

"Together, we were never together, you pompous…"

"Chuck, good to see you. Still at the spy game are ya? I thought by now your time as an asset would have run its course."

"It did. I am an agent now."

Cole walked up to Sarah and took her hands. His thumb ran over her wedding ring, and he looked down, "Nice to see that the agencies are providing better props these days."

Sarah pulled her hands away, "They're not props."

"That Bryce fellow?"

Chuck coughed, "Nope. This fellow."

"No way. Well, congratulations. Who would have thought that the great Sarah Walker would settle down with an asset?"

"Agent!" Sarah hissed as she looked at Cole.

"Agent. Well, agents, how about we talk about why we were both in the same bank. Let me guess, you're here to see if this is Richardson's new headquarters. Let me save you the trouble, it is indeed his new headquarters."

"How do you know?"

"I've been able to get someone on the inside of the bank that is feeding me info, Charles. Two months ago, people and money began to flow through that bank. It seems that there are three main areas that hold the secure data we both seek. What do you say? Are you two up for a bank heist?"


End file.
